Act of Parliament · As enacted
Sri Lanka Electricity (Amendment) Act 2025
Official English translation. Where it differs from the Sinhala or Tamil text, the Act itself says which text prevails.
Official translationFrom Department of Government Printing, unchanged
s 1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Sri Lanka Electricity
(Amendment) Act, No. 14 of 2025.
s 2Amendment of the Long title to Act, No. 36 of 2024
The Long title to the Sri Lanka Electricity Act, No. 36
of 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the “principal enactment”)
is hereby amended by the substitution for the words “TO
PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE
NATIONAL ELECTRICITY ADVISORY COUNCIL;”, of the words “TO PROVIDE FOR THE FORMULATION OF
THE NATIONAL ELECTRICITY POLICY AS PART OF
THE NATIONAL POLICY ON ENERGY;”.
In the principal enactment, there shall be substituted -
for the expression “Wholesale Electricity
Market”, wherever such expression appears, other than in paragraph (c) of section 2, subsection (4) of section 29 and subsections (1), (2) and (4) of section 30, of the expression
“National Electricity Market”; and
for the word “Council” wherever such word appears with reference to the National Electricity
Advisory Council established under section 3, of the expression, “committee appointed by the
Minister”.
Save as provided in subsection (1), every reference to the –
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“Wholesale Electricity Market” shall be read and construed as a reference to the “National
Electricity Market”; and
“Council” with reference to the National
Electricity Advisory Council established under section 3 of the principal enactment, shall be read and construed as a reference to the “committee appointed by the Minister”, in any notice, notification, contract, communication or other document issued pursuant to the provisions of the principal enactment.
s 4Amendment of section 1 of the principal enactment
Section 1 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows: -
by the substitution for the words and figures “section 4, section 9,”, wherever such words and figures appear in that section, of the words and figures “section 4, section 5, section 9,”;
in subsection (2) of that section -
by the repeal of the first proviso to that subsection and the substitution therefor, of the following proviso: -
“Provided that, prior to making such
Order, the Minister shall be satisfied that –
the Preliminary Transfer Plan has been prepared by the Power
Sector Reforms Secretariat;
the national electricity policy as part of the national policy on energy including the national tariff policy have been prepared
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by the Minister and approved by the Cabinet of Ministers; and
the Annual Power Procurement
Plan and the Long Term
Generation
Expansion
Plan and Long Term Transmission
Development
Plan have been prepared by the Ceylon
Electricity Board which shall be applicable until the Long Term
Power System Development
Plan prepared by the National
System Operator comes into effect.”;
by the repeal of second proviso to that subsection;
by the repeal of paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of that section and the substitution therefor, of the following paragraph: -
“(b) the dates from which each Electricity Market specified in subsection (2) of section 30 shall come into operation under subsection (1) of section 30.”;
in subsection (5) of that section, by the substitution for all the words from “be placed before Parliament:”
to the end of that subsection, of the following words: -
“be placed before Parliament.”; and
by the addition immediately after subsection (5) of that section, of the following subsection: -
“(6)
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2), if no appointed date is published in the Gazette as required by that subsection
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even though the Minister is satisfied that the requirements in the proviso to that subsection have been met, the provisions of this Act, other than the provisions of this section, section 2, section 3, section 4, section 5, section 9, subsection (1)
of section 10, paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 10, subsection (3) of section 10, subsection (5) of section 10, section 14, section 15, section 17, section 18, section 38, section 39 and the sections specified in subsection (4) of this section shall come into operation immediately upon the expiry of four months from the date on which this subsection comes into operation.”.
s 5Amendment of section 2 of the principal enactment
Section 2 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows: -
in paragraph (a) of that section, by the substitution for the words “electricity supply”, of the words “continuous and reliable electricity supply”;
in paragraph (c) of that section, by the substitution for the words “Wholesale Electricity Market;”, of the words “unbundled electricity sector and
National Electricity Market;”;
in paragraph (g) of that section, by the substitution for the words “dangers arising from the” and “by improved safety standards,”, of the words “risks associated with the” and “through enhanced safety standards,” respectively; and
by the repeal of paragraph (i) of that section and the substitution therefor, of the following paragraph: -
“(i) to minimize the carbon footprint of the
Sri Lankan electricity industry with the
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view of achieving the Government’s international commitments for decarbonisation, promoting renewable energy, and optimizing the integration of indigenous energy resources in line with the national policies of
Sri Lanka.”.
s 6Replacement of heading of the PART II of the principal enactment
The heading of PART II, of the principal enactment is hereby repealed and the following heading is substituted therefor: -
“NATIONAL ELECTRICITY POLICY AS
PART OF THE NATIONAL POLICY ON
ENERGY AND THE ISSUE OF POLICY
GUIDELINES”.
s 7Repeal of section 3 of the principal enactment
Section 3 of the principal enactment is hereby repealed without prejudice to anything duly done in terms of the provisions of section 3, by the National Electricity Advisory
Council established by that section, prior to the date of coming into operation of this section.
s 8Amendment of section 4 of the principal enactment
Section 4 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows: -
in subsection (1) of that section, by the substitution for the words “the policy of the
Government”, of the words “the National
Energy Policy and Strategies of Sri Lanka,”;
by the repeal of subsection (2) of that section and the substitution therefor of the following subsections: -
“(2) Upon the coming into operation of this section, the Minister shall, with a view to enabling Sri Lanka to meet the
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increasing future demands for electricity, appoint a committee with the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers, consisting of not more than eight persons (hereinafter referred to as the “committee appointed by the Minister”) having at least fifteen years of expertise in one or more of the following fields, to formulate the draft national electricity policy as part of the national policy on energy, after consultation with the Regulator, National System Operator, licensees, consumer organisations and other relevant stakeholders and in compliance with all relevant national policies and policy guidelines: -
energy policy making;
economics;
finance;
energy system planning; and
renewable energy and energy transition.
A person shall be disqualified from being appointed or continued to be a member of the committee appointed by the
Minister, if such person –
is not or ceases to be a citizen of Sri Lanka;
is or has been within three years prior to being appointed, a member of
Parliament, a
Provincial
Council or a
Local
Authority;
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is a connected person having any financial or other interest amounting to a conflict of interest directly or indirectly in any entity in the Electricity Industry or any matter performed by such person;
is under any written law in force in Sri Lanka found or declared to be of unsound mind;
is a person who has been declared an insolvent or bankrupt under any written law in Sri Lanka or in any other country, is undischarged insolvent or bankrupt;
has been convicted of any criminal offence by any court in Sri Lanka or in any other country; or
is subject to any mental or physical disability which precludes such person from discharging the responsibilities assigned to such person as a member of the committee appointed by the Minister.
The Minister shall, after informing the Cabinet of Ministers in writing the reasons therefor, remove any member of the
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committee appointed by the Minister, if such member is subject to any disqualification specified in subsection (2A).
The members of the committee appointed by the Minister shall hold office for a period of three years unless removed from the office by the Minister.
The Minister may reappoint any member for a further term of three years.
The committee appointed by the
Minister shall be deemed to be a scheduled institution within the meaning of the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 9 of 2023 and the provisions of that Act shall be construed accordingly.”.
in subsection (3) of that section, by the substitution for the words and figures “in compliance with the direction of the Minister under subsection (2), proceed”, of the word
“proceed”;
in subsection (9) of that section, by the substitution for the words and figures
“subsections (1) to (7)”, of the words and figures
“subsections (4) to (7)”; and
by the repeal of the marginal note of that section and the substitution therefor of the following marginal note: -
“Formulation of the national electricity policy as part of the national policy on energy”.
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s 9Amendment of section 5 of the principal enactment
Section 5 of the principal enactment is hereby amended in subsection (3) of that section, in paragraph (l) of that subsection, by the substitution for the words “least cost economic dispatch”, of the words “security constrained economic dispatch”.
s 10Amendment of section 10 of the principal enactment
Section 10 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows: -
in subsection (1) of that section –
in paragraph (b) of that subsection, by the substitution for all the words from “shall consist of –” to the end of that paragraph, of the following words: -
“shall consist of the following five members: -
a representative from the
Ministry of the Minister holding a post not below an
Additional Secretary or an equivalent position in that
Ministry;
a Deputy Secretary to the
Treasury;
one person who has at least fifteen years of experience in power system operation and planning;
one person who has at least fifteen years of experience in procurement; and
one person who has at least fifteen years of experience
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in any one or more of the following fields: -
A. finance;
B. economics;
C. accounting; or
D. commercial law, and one of whom shall be appointed as the Chairperson by the Minister.”;
by the addition immediately after paragraph (e) of that subsection, of the following new paragraphs: -
“(f) The members of the Board of Directors shall hold office for a period of three years unless removed from the office by the Minister.
The Minister may reappoint any member for a further term of three years.”;
in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of that section, by the substitution for the words “of Sri Lanka;”, of the words “of Sri Lanka, ensuring continuous and reliable electricity supply;”;
in subsection (5) of that section, by the substitution for the words “shall, in every two years”, of the words “shall, within one year from the appointed date and thereafter, in every two years”;
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in subsection (12) of that section, by the substitution for the words “persons who are”, of the words “companies which are”; and
by the addition immediately after subsection (14) of that section, of the following new subsection: -
“(15) The National System Operator shall draft, implement and maintain the grid code and other technical and operational codes and standards in relation to the National Grid of
Sri Lanka in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (h) of subsection (4) of section 15.”.
s 11Amendment of section 11 of the principal enactment
Section 11 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows: -
in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of that section –
by the substitution for the words and figures “mentioned in subsection (3),”, of the words and figures “specified by an
Order made under subsection (3),”;
in sub-paragraph (i) of that paragraph by the substitution for the words and figures
“specified under subsection (3),”, of the words and figures “specified by an Order made under subsection (3),”; and
by the repeal of all the words from
“competitive and transparent procurement process:” to the end of that paragraph and the substitution therefor, of the words
“competitive and transparent procurement process;”;
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in subsection (2) of that section, by the substitution for the words “at its earliest convenience,”, of the words “within thirty working days of the date of receipt of any recommendation,”;
in subsection (3) of that section, by the substitution for all the words from “The
Minister” to “National System Operator:”, of the words “The Minister may by Order published in the Gazette, specify the maximum capacity of each renewable energy technology based power plant along with storage or ancillary services directly associated with such power plant, which may be permitted to enter into standardized power purchase agreements with the National System Operator and distribution licensees in accordance with the provisions of subsection (4) of section 30: ”; and
by the addition immediately after subsection (3) of that section, of the following new subsections: -
“(4) The National System Operator may forego the requirement to submit a tender in respect of procuring any new generation plant or the expansion of any existing generation plant to meet any emergency situation as determined by the Cabinet of Ministers during a national calamity or a long term forced outage of a major generation plant, where the potential benefit of procuring emergency capacity required to be provided by any person at least cost outweighs protracted bid inviting process.
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Such period of emergency power purchasing from generation plants without submission of a tender shall not extend beyond one year from the relevant determination from the Cabinet of Ministers unless a prior approval of the Cabinet of
Ministers is obtained as required with the existence of the emergency situation more than one year.
On and after the date on which the competitive Ancillary Services Market commences operations as specified by an
Order made under section 30, the provisions of subsections (4) and (5) shall cease to be in operation.”.
s 12Amendment of section 14 of the principal enactment
Section 14 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows: -
in subsection (1) of that section, by the substitution for the words “more than fifty per centum”, of the words “one hundred per centum”;
in subsection (2) of that section, by the substitution for the words “Any person who”, of the words and figures “Any company incorporated in terms of the Companies Act,
No. 07 of 2007, which”; and
in subsection (3) of that section, by the substitution for the words “a person who”, of the words “a company, which”.
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s 13Amendment of section 17 of the principal enactment
Section 17 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows: -
in subsection (2) of that section -
in paragraph (a) of that subsection, by the substitution for the words “limited companies incorporated” and “the transfer plan”, of the words and figures “limited companies referred to in items (a), (e), (f), (g), (h)(i) and (h)(ii) of Schedule
I, incorporated” and “the preliminary transfer plan” respectively;
by the insertion immediately after paragraph (a) of that subsection, of the following new paragraph: -
“(aa) within a period of one year from the date of publishing the final transfer plan in the
Gazette as specified in section 18, the activities and all assets and liabilities of the companies referred to in items (a) and (g)
of Schedule I along with their respective duties and functions shall further unbundle as designed by the final transfer plan and vest in the limited companies referred to in items (i)(i) and (i)(ii) of Schedule
I, incorporated in terms of subsection (1).”;
by the repeal of paragraph (b) of that subsection, and the substitution therefor of the following paragraph: -
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“(b) the Secretary to the
Treasury shall be initially allotted one hundred per centum of the shares in the successor companies incorporated under this section other than the companies referred to in items (a), (e), (f), (g) and (h)(ii) of Schedule I and the company referred to in item (i)(i) of Schedule I relating to the hydropower generation in which the Secretary to the
Treasury shall be permanently allotted one hundred per centum of the shares. ”; and
by the addition immediately after subsection (3) of that section, of the following new subsections:-
“(4) The administration and management of the affairs of the company referred to in item (a) of Schedule I shall be vested in a
Board of Directors appointed by the Minister which shall consist of the following five members:-
a representative from the
Ministry of the Minister holding a post not below an Additional
Secretary or an equivalent position in that Ministry;
a Deputy Secretary to the
Treasury;
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one person who has at least fifteen years of experience in management of electricity generation systems;
one person who has at least fifteen years of experience in procurement;
one person who has at least fifteen years of experience in any one or more of the following fields: -
financial management;
economics;
accounting; or
commercial law, and one of whom shall be appointed as the
Chairperson by the Minister.
The administration and management of the affairs of the company referred to in item (e) of Schedule I shall be vested in a Board of Directors appointed by the
Minister which shall consist of following five members: -
a representative from the
Ministry of the Minister holding a post not below an Additional
Secretary or an equivalent position in that Ministry;
a Deputy Secretary to the
Treasury;
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one person who has at least fifteen years of experience in management of electricity transmission systems;
one person who has at least fifteen years of experience in procurement;
one person who has at least fifteen years of experience in any one or more of the following fields: -
financial management;
economics;
accounting; or
commercial law, and one of whom shall be appointed as the
Chairperson by the Minister.
The administration and management of the affairs of the company referred to in item (g) of Schedule I shall be vested in a Board of Directors appointed by the
Minister which shall consist of following five members: -
a representative from the
Ministry of the Minister holding a post not below an Additional
Secretary or an equivalent position in that Ministry;
a Deputy Secretary to the
Treasury;
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one person who has at least fifteen years of experience in management of electricity distribution systems;
one person who has at least fifteen years of experience in procurement;
one person who has at least fifteen years of experience in any one or more of the following fields: -
financial management;
economics;
accounting; or
commercial law, and one of whom shall be appointed as the
Chairperson by the Minister.
The administration and management of the affairs of the company referred to in item (h)(i) of Schedule I shall be vested in a Board of Directors appointed by the Minister which shall consist of following five members:-
a representative from the
Ministry of the Minister holding a post not below an Additional
Secretary or an equivalent position in that Ministry;
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a Deputy Secretary to the
Treasury;
one person who has at least fifteen years of experience in the electricity sector corporate management;
one person who has at least fifteen years of experience in procurement;
one person who has at least fifteen years of experience in any one or more of the following fields: -
financial management;
economics;
accounting; or
commercial law, and one of whom shall be appointed as the
Chairperson by the Minister.
The administration and management of the affairs of the company referred to in item (h)(ii) of Schedule I shall be vested in a Board of Directors appointed by the
Minister which shall consist of following nine members: -
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a representative from the
Ministry of the Minister holding a post not below an Additional
Secretary or an equivalent position in that Ministry;
a Deputy Secretary to the
Treasury;
three persons who have at least fifteen years of experience in any one or more of the following fields: -
financial management;
economics;
accounting; or
commercial law;
four persons from employees serving in the Ceylon Electricity
Board on the day preceding the appointed date and former employees of the
Ceylon
Electricity Board, and one of whom shall be appointed as the
Chairperson by the Minister.
(a) The members of the Boards of Directors of the companies referred to in subsections (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8)
including the Chairperson, shall hold office for a period of three years unless removed from the office by the Minister.
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The Minister may re-appoint any such member including the member appointed as the Chairperson for a further term of three years.
The Board of Directors of the companies referred to in subsections (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8) and the companies referred to in items (i)(i) and (i)(ii) of Schedule
I shall submit to the Minister, a general disclosure of their interests as at the date of their appointment before assuming office as a Director of the Board of Directors.
Any Director of the companies referred to in subsections (4), (5), (6), (7)
and (8) and the companies referred to in items (i)(i) and (i)(ii) of Schedule I who has, directly or indirectly, any interest in any matter that is to be taken up before the
Board of Directors shall disclose the nature of such interest to the Board of Directors and shall not take part in any deliberation or decision of the Board of Directors with regard to that matter.
Any person other than a representative from the Ministry of the Minister or the
Treasury, shall not be appointed as a member of two or more Boards of Directors of the companies referred to in items (a), (e), (f), (g), (h)(i), (i)(i) and (i)(ii) of Schedule I.
The Boards of Directors of the companies referred to in subsections (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8), shall –
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formulate the draft of the following policies, from time to time: -
Enterprise Management
Policy;
Investment and
Procurement Policy;
Enterprise
Risk
Management Policy;
Financial
Management
Policy;
Disclosure Policy;
Anti-Corruption Policy;
Human Resources Policy;
and
Strategic Communications
Policy;
submit the draft policies to the
Minister to obtain the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers; and
upon the approval being granted by the Cabinet of Ministers to the draft policies, comply with such policies in respect of all matters on the administration and management of the affairs of the company.”.
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s 14Amendment of section 18 of the principal enactment
Section 18 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows: -
in subsection (2) of that section -
in paragraph (b), by the substitution for the words “not later than two years”, of the words “not later than one year”;
in paragraph (c) –
by the substitution for the words
“in items (a), (f) and (h)(ii) of
Schedule I”, of the words and figures “in items (a), (e), (f), (g)
and (h)(ii) of Schedule I”;
by the substitution for all the words from “in terms of paragraph (b):” to the end of that subsection, of the words “in terms of paragraph (b).”; and
in subsection (3) of that section -
by the repeal of paragraph (b) of that subsection and the substitution therefor of the following paragraph: -
“(b)
specify the proportions in which the existing financial liabilities of the Ceylon Electricity Board, including the supplier liabilities shall be allocated amongst the successor companies;”;
in sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (e) of that subsection, by the substitution for the
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words “Provident Fund obligations”, of the words “Provident Fund and Pension
Fund obligations”;
in paragraph (f) of that subsection, by the substitution for the words “within four months of this section comes into operation;”, wherever such words appear in that paragraph, of the words “within fourteen months of this section comes into operation;”;
in paragraph (g) of that subsection, by the substitution for the word and figures
“section 17.”, of the word and figures
“section 17;”;
by the insertion immediately after paragraph (g) of that subsection, of the following new paragraphs: -
“(h) ensure that all officers and servants of the Generation Company referred to in item (a) of Schedule I (in this paragraph referred to as “Generation
Company”) holding office in the
Generation Company on the day preceding one year from the date of publishing the final transfer plan in the Gazette shall be-
duly identified by the
Generation Company;
notified by the Generation
Company of their proposed assignation to the respective successor companies
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referred to in item (i)(i)
of Schedule I within four months from the date of publishing the final transfer plan in the Gazette; and
required to notify the
Generation Company within two months of the receipt of the notice referred to in sub-paragraph (ii), whether they opt to be assigned to such respective successor companies referred to in item (i)(i) of Schedule I or not, and shall with effect from the date succeeding one year from the date of publishing the final transfer plan in the Gazette shall be assigned to such successor companies referred to in item (i)(i) of Schedule I under the final transfer plan on terms and conditions not less favourable than those enjoyed by them on the day preceding the appointed date under the contract of employment with the
Ceylon Electricity Board. Where an employee does not opt to be assigned to a successor company referred to in item (i)(i) of Schedule I under the final transfer plan, such employee shall be entitled to a voluntary retirement scheme and the terms and conditions of such scheme shall be prescribed within four months from the date of publishing the final transfer plan in the Gazette; and
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ensure that all officers and servants of the
Distribution
Company referred to in item (g) of Schedule
I (in this paragraph referred to as
“Distribution Company”) holding office in the Distribution Company on the day preceding one year from the date of publishing the final transfer plan in the Gazette shall be-
duly identified by the
Distribution Company;
notified by the Distribution
Company of their proposed assignation to the respective successor companies referred to in item (i)(ii)
of Schedule I within four months from the date of publishing the final transfer plan in the Gazette; and
required to notify the
Distribution
Company within two months of the receipt of the notice referred to in sub-paragraph (ii), whether they opt to be assigned to such respective successor companies referred to in item (i)(ii) of
Schedule I or not, and shall with effect from the date succeeding one year from the date of publishing the final transfer plan in the Gazette shall be assigned to
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such successor companies referred to in item (i)(ii) of Schedule I under the final transfer plan on terms and conditions not less favourable than those enjoyed by them on the day preceding the appointed date under the contract of employment with the Ceylon Electricity Board.
Where an employee does not opt to be assigned to a successor company referred to in item (i)(ii) of Schedule
I under the final transfer plan, such employee shall be entitled to a voluntary retirement scheme and the terms and conditions of such scheme shall be prescribed within four months from the date of publishing the final transfer plan in the Gazette.”.