The first 30 units will be exempt, while usage between 31 and 90 units will be charged an extra one rupee a unit, and above 90 units an extra 1.50 rupees plus a 20 percent fuel charge on each unit.
About a million of the 3.2 million domestic customers fall within the 30 unit bracket. The CEB sells about seven billion units of electricity each year.
An incentive will be offered for every unit saved. Those who save electricity will get a rebate of ten percent on their next bill, on a base level of the last six months, Cabinet spokesperson Anura Priyadarshana Yapa told journalists on Thursday.
All those who consume less than 90 units of electricity will also get a free energy saving bulb from state utility the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).
If 1.5 million people who use less than 90 units are provided with these CFL bulbs, it will result in a saving of 150,000 kilowatt hours, Yapa said.
The energy saving incentives is part of a whole host of measures to cut down o