Sri Lanka Electricity Connection Fee Calculator (CEB & LECO)

A Sri Lankan electricity connection is priced as a sum of five distinct charges in the CEB Schedule of Charges (PUCSL-approved and mirrored almost exactly by LECO in its licensed area). The calculator computes each line item separately so the bottom line is auditable, then totals them and splits the result into the refundable deposit and the one-off non-refundable portion you should actually budget for.

1. Application & processing fee. A flat administrative charge set by tariff category and phase, paid when you submit the CSC-1 form. Domestic single-phase is the cheapest slot; industrial MV (I-2 / I-3) is the most expensive.
2. Capacity charge. Calculated as kVA × rate_per_kVA[tariff][phase]. The kVA you nominate fixes the transformer slot reserved for your premises, so the fee scales linearly. Single-phase domestic is Rs 1,500/kVA; three-phase industrial peaks at Rs 10,000/kVA on I-3.
3. Service line extension. The first 30 m from the nearest LV pole is included free (first 100 m for MV). Beyond that, the customer pays the per-metre extension rate for the appropriate phase and voltage level. Run as max(0, distance − free) × per_metre × utility_multiplier. LECO carries a small premium for urban undergrounding.
4. Meter security deposit. Held against unpaid bills, fully refundable on disconnection. Calculated as kWh × avg_tariff × deposit_months, where deposit-months is 2 for domestic / religious / GP-1 and 3 for everything heavier. This is the largest line item for any high-consumption customer.
5. Stamp duty. The flat Rs 25 fee on the supply agreement under the Stamp Duty Act. Trivial in size but always on the invoice.

The calculator runs both the line-item walk and an independent formula cross-check (the calculateByFormula helper in the data module) — the two methods must agree before a result is rendered, so you cannot get a number that disagrees with the methodology stated above.

Single phase versus three phase

Single phase is the cheaper option in administrative fees and capacity charge, but it is hard-capped at 7.5kVA of contract demand. A modern Sri Lankan household with a 1.5-ton air conditioner, an electric oven, an induction cooker, and an electric water heater can easily breach that envelope at peak time — in which case three-phase is the only option, regardless of the higher upfront fee. Three-phase also balances the load across three conductors so motors and pumps run cooler and your wiring spec can be a notch slimmer. The calculator's side-by-side pane lets you toggle both at the same kVA and see the difference in rupees; when the single-phase pane greys out, you have crossed the cap.

LV versus MV (11 kV / 33 kV)

Most customers will connect at LV (low voltage, 230 / 400 V). MV (medium voltage at 11 kV or 33 kV) is reserved for GP-2 medium commercial, I-2 medium industrial, and I-3 large industrial — the calculator hides the MV toggle for any other tariff. MV costs more up-front because the customer's premises have to host a metering panel, switchgear, and an HT/LT transformer, and the line extension is charged at a higher per-metre rate; but the unit tariff is materially lower than LV, so for high-consumption sites the payback is typically inside a year.

What the calculator does not include

Three categories sit outside the scope. (1) The wiring inside your premises — switchboards, sockets, earthing, and the work of a chartered electrical installer — is paid separately to your contractor, typically Rs 80,000–250,000 for a small house. (2) A transformer or pole upgrade triggered by your contract demand is quoted case-by-case by the area engineer after a site survey. (3) SLSEA inspection and approval fees for solar net-metering, embedded generators, or standby generators are administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority, not CEB, and are out of scope. For solar export pricing, use the Sri Lanka solar net-metering calculator. For your monthly bill after the connection is live, use the CEB / LECO electricity bill calculator.

Edge cases and validation

The calculator handles four boundary conditions cleanly. (1) Distance exactly equal to the free allowance produces a zero service-line charge — max(0, distance − free) collapses to zero rather than going negative. (2) Contract demand at exactly 7.5kVA still qualifies for single phase; anything above it forces three-phase and the comparison pane greys out the single-phase option with a tooltip explaining why. (3) Tariffs that mandate three-phase (GP-1 and above) hide the single-phase radio entirely rather than silently overriding the user's choice. (4) Non-numeric or negative inputs surface a specific, actionable warning above the result panel rather than a silent NaN.

Four scenarios that span the most common new-connection cases in Sri Lanka, worked end-to-end against the CEB Schedule of Charges. Try plugging each set of inputs into the calculator above — the itemised breakdown should match the steps below to the rupee. The fourth scenario is the high-end MV case where the refundable deposit dominates the total.

• Ceylon Electricity Board — Schedule of Charges for New Service Connections
• Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka — Retail tariff determinations
• Lanka Electricity Company — Customer Service / Connections
• Sri Lanka Electricity Act No. 36 of 2024

Rates structured per the CEB Schedule of Charges and PUCSL retail-tariff determination effective March 2025. Confirm final figures with your CEB or LECO area office before payment. The rates and formulas on this page were last cross-checked on 2026-05-17. If your CEB or LECO area office issues a materially different quotation, email me with the paperwork and the page will be reconciled.