How is the maximum demand charge calculated for CEB industrial customers?

The demand charge is your metered maximum demand in kVA for the month multiplied by the category's Rs-per-kVA rate. For an I-2 factory the rate is Rs 1,650/kVA, so a metered peak of 80 kVA adds 80 × 1,650 = Rs 132,000, entirely separate from the energy you consumed.

What is the difference between the GP-1 and GP-2 electricity tariffs in Sri Lanka?

GP-1 covers small commercial premises with a contract demand of 42 kVA or less: one flat energy rate, a fixed charge, and no demand charge. GP-2 covers premises above 42 kVA — it is demand-metered, billed on Time-of-Use energy rates plus a maximum-demand charge per kVA.

Which CEB tariff applies to a factory or workshop?

A small workshop under 42 kVA is Industrial I-1 (flat rate, no demand charge). A factory above 42 kVA on a 400/230 V supply is I-2. A large plant taking supply at 11 kV or higher through its own transformer is I-3. The category is fixed by your contract demand and supply voltage, not by choice.

Does a Time-of-Use meter save money for an industrial consumer?

Under the current PUCSL schedule the demand-metered categories (I-2, I-3, GP-2, GP-3) are billed on Time-of-Use energy by default — there is no flat option for them. What saves money is shifting load out of the 18:30–22:30 peak window into the overnight off-peak window, which this calculator quantifies for your inputs.

Why is my business electricity bill charged per kVA and not only per kWh?

kWh measures the energy you use; kVA measures the peak apparent power the network must be sized to deliver. Demand-metered tariffs recover that capacity cost separately through the kVA charge. A poor power factor raises the kVA reading above the actual kW, so the demand charge climbs even if energy use is unchanged.

What is the difference between I-1, I-2 and I-3?

I-1 is a low-voltage retail supply at 400/230 V with contract demand up to 42 kVA — flat rate, no demand charge. I-2 is 400/230 V above 42 kVA, demand-metered. I-3 is a medium-voltage supply at 11 kV and above. I-3 has the lowest energy rates because the consumer owns the transformer and takes supply at higher voltage.

Do CEB and LECO charge different industrial rates?

No. Both CEB and LECO bill the identical PUCSL-approved schedule, so the energy, demand and fixed charges are the same for a given category. The only customer-visible difference is the utility name on the bill and the service area — LECO covers parts of the urban Western Province, CEB the rest of the country.

When were these rates last verified?

The rates on this page are the PUCSL schedule approved in the Final Decision on Electricity Tariffs, May 2026, effective May 11, 2026. They were transcribed and cross-checked against the official PUCSL determination on 2026-07-15, and are reviewed after every gazetted tariff revision.

Sri Lanka · Finance

Sri Lanka Industrial & Commercial Electricity Bill Calculator

Work out the monthly CEB or LECO bill for a factory, workshop or commercial premises on a demand-metered tariff — the energy charge, the maximum-demand charge in kVA, and the fixed charge — with a Time-of-Use breakdown the domestic bill calculator can't do. No signup, sources cited below.

By Induwara Ashinsana— Executive Director, Ryzera TechnologiesUpdated Jul 15, 2026

Estimate your business electricity bill

PUCSL · effective May 2026

Tariff category

Utility

400/230 V, contract demand > 42 kVA (demand-metered). Medium factories drawing more than 42 kVA on a low-voltage bulk supply. Time-of-Use energy plus a maximum-demand charge per kVA.

Peak units (kWh)

kWh

18:30 – 22:30 — the most expensive window.

Day units (kWh)

kWh

05:30 – 18:30 — normal working hours.

Off-peak units (kWh)

kWh

22:30 – 05:30 — overnight, cheapest.

Maximum demand (kVA)

kVA

The metered monthly peak apparent power on your bill.

Only know your total? Split it

Fills the three periods with a typical 20% peak / 55% day / 25% off-peak factory profile.

Sample loads

Total payable / month

Rs 558,000

Energy charge

Rs 420,000

Demand charge

Rs 132,000

80 kVA × Rs 1,650

Effective rate

Rs 27.90

per kWh, all charges in

Shifting all 3,000 peak-hour units into the overnight off-peak window would cut your energy charge by about Rs 67,500 per month — the demand charge is unaffected, so off-peak scheduling is the biggest lever on this bill.

Bill breakdown

Component	Units	Rate	Amount
Peak energy (18:30 – 22:30)	3,000	Rs 39.00	Rs 117,000
Day energy (05:30 – 18:30)	9,000	Rs 19.00	Rs 171,000
Off-peak energy (22:30 – 05:30)	8,000	Rs 16.50	Rs 132,000
Maximum-demand charge	80 kVA	Rs 1,650/kVA	Rs 132,000
Fixed charge	—	per month	Rs 6,000
Total payable			Rs 558,000

Maximum demand is billed in kVA (apparent power), not kW — a poor power factor inflates the kVA reading and therefore the demand charge. Keeping your metered peak low is the main way to reduce it.

Rates transcribed from the PUCSL Final Decision on Electricity Tariffs, May 2026 (Annex-2), approved schedule effective 11 May 2026. Estimate only — your printed CEB/LECO bill is authoritative. Sources are listed in full below.

How it works

Sri Lanka's commercial and industrial tariffs are set by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) and billed identically by CEB and LECO. The schedule splits into two structurally different regimes, and which one applies to you is fixed by your contract demand and supply voltage — it is printed on your bill, not chosen.

Retail, volume-differentiated (I-1 and GP-1). If your contract demand is 42 kVA or less, a single flat energy rate is applied to every unit, and the rate plus fixed charge are selected by whether your monthly consumption sits at or below a volume threshold or above it. There is no maximum-demand charge. Because the whole bill re-rates when you cross the threshold, one extra unit can add far more than its own value — the volume cliff this tool makes visible.

Demand-metered, Time-of-Use (I-2, I-3, GP-2, GP-3). Above 42 kVA the bill is the sum of three independent components:

Energy charge — units are priced by the period they are used in: peak × peakRate + day × dayRate + offPeak × offPeakRate. Peak is 18:30–22:30, day 05:30–18:30, off-peak 22:30–05:30. There is no flat-rate option for these categories.
Maximum-demand charge — maxDemandKVA × demandRate, where demand is metered in kVA (apparent power). For I-2 the rate is Rs 1,650/kVA; for GP-2 it is Rs 1,800/kVA.
Fixed charge — a flat Rs 6,000 per month for every demand-metered category.

The effective cost per unit is the total divided by total kWh — the single figure to compare across categories or against a solar investment. Because the demand charge does not move with energy, the biggest controllable lever on a demand-metered bill is shifting load out of the peak window: every peak unit moved to off-peak saves the peak-minus-off-peak rate gap. The calculator computes that saving for your own numbers.

Every rate is transcribed verbatim from the PUCSL Final Decision on Electricity Tariffs, May 2026 (Annex-2), approved schedule effective May 11, 2026, and a second independent formula cross-checks the total to the rupee. No estimation or interpolation — the output is a deterministic function of the published tariff.

Worked examples

Medium factory — Industrial I-2

Demand-metered

20,000 kWh (peak 3,000 / day 9,000 / off-peak 8,000), 80 kVA

Energy = 3,000×39.00 + 9,000×19.00 + 8,000×16.50
= 117,000 + 171,000 + 132,000 = Rs 420,000
Demand = 80 kVA × Rs 1,650 = Rs 132,000
Fixed = Rs 6,000
Total = Rs 558,000 → effective Rs 27.90/kWh
Shift 3,000 peak → off-peak: saves 3,000 × (39.00 − 16.50) = Rs 67,500

Small workshop — Industrial I-1

Retail, ≤ 42 kVA

250 kWh total (no demand charge)

250 kWh ≤ 300 → band 1: Rs 9.00/kWh, fixed Rs 300
Energy = 250 × 9.00 = Rs 2,250
Demand = none (contract demand under 42 kVA)
Fixed = Rs 300
Total = Rs 2,550 → effective Rs 10.20/kWh

The volume cliff — Industrial I-1 at 301 kWh

Edge case

301 kWh total (one unit over the 300 kWh band boundary)

At 300 kWh: 300 × 9.00 + 300 = Rs 3,000 (band 1)
At 301 kWh: 301 > 300 → band 2: Rs 18.00/kWh, fixed Rs 800
Energy = 301 × 18.00 = Rs 5,418
Fixed = Rs 800
Total = Rs 6,218 → one extra unit added Rs 3,218
Lesson: near a band boundary, small usage changes swing the whole bill

Frequently asked questions

Sources & references

Rates transcribed and cross-checked against the PUCSL sources on 2026-07-15. This is an estimate — your printed CEB or LECO bill remains authoritative, and reactive-energy surcharges or special-contract terms beyond the published schedule are out of scope. Found a discrepancy? Email me with your bill figures and I'll investigate.

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