Utilities of Sri Lanka

utilities2

Power

The main sources of electricity generation in Sri Lanka are oil and hydropower. Sri Lanka’s largest electricity company is the state-owned Ceylon Electricity Board, which has an almost 100 per cent share of the market. The CEB controls all major functions of generation, transmission, distribution and retailing in the country. The CEB is one of the only two on-grid electricity companies operating in Sri Lanka, the other being the privately owned Lanka Electricity Company.

Sri Lanka is currently largely dependent on the importation of crude oil and petroleum to meet its energy demand. Importing, refining and distributing oil is the responsibility of the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.

 

Water

The government-owned National Water Supply and Drainage Board operates 312 water supply schemes in Sri Lanka, serving approximately 40 per cent of the population with pipe borne water supply and a further 12 per cent with hand pump wells. Some 91 per cent of people use an improved drinking water source and 92 per cent have adequate sanitation facilities (2010). Provincial councils and local authorities also play a large part in Sri Lanka’s water supply sector. There are also several foreign-funded water supply projects operating throughout the region. The Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage is responsible for policies and programmes relating to the supply of water in Sri Lanka.

 

Telecoms

A 2010 survey showed that there are approximately 170 main telephone lines and more than 820 mobile phone subscribers per 1,000 people in Sri Lanka. The number of mobile phone subscriptions in the country more than doubled between 2008 and 2010.

Sri Lanka Telecom is the country’s largest telecommunications provider, operating over 80 per cent of the country’s fixed line network. Global Telecommunications Holdings of the Netherlands owns 44.98 per cent shares in Sri Lanka Telecom, while the Government of Sri Lanka owns 50.5 per cent, the remaining shares being owned by the general public. Other notable fixed line providers are Suntel and Lanka Bell. Prominent mobile operators are Etisalat, Mobitel and Hutch.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka is the body responsible for the regulation of the telecoms sector in accordance with the 1997 Sri Lanka Telecommunication Act.