COLOMBO : In response to a massive protests from the clergy,an electricity tariff concession will be given to places of religious worship, Public Utilities Commission (PUCSL) Chairman Janaka Rathnayake said. He met the Malwathu and Asgiri Chapter Chief Prelates on Saturday to brief them on the decision to reduce unit charge from Rs.72 to Rs. 32 for religious places, by bringing them under the ‘General Purpose’ category.

The Chairman said that electricity bills of the religious places would come down by 50 percent following this move. He said that including religious places to the General Purpose category was acceptable as they conduct Dhamma schools and other public activities.

The Chairman said the new tariff revision for religious places would be applied with retrospective effect. Accordingly, the electricity bills of the religious places, which were increased from August 8, will be reduced again.