Turning Off the Lights: The Threat to Community Electricity in Sri Lanka

The World Trade Organization's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) could threaten services and projects specifically aimed at or managed by poor communities. This book explains the nature of that threat, taking community-run electricity schemes in Sri Lanka as an example. It will help to galvanize support for a pro-poor agenda in future negotiations by illustrating the dangers if the concerns of poor communities are not taken into account. Twenty years of privatization and liberalization have weakened poor communities throughout the developing world, while strengthening business and the private sector. Civil society groups and service user groups have struggled to ensure that their legitimate concerns are heard. Now international pressure through the GATS negotiations could threaten the survival of even those projects which have focused on poor communities, such as off-grid micro-hydro power schemes which are widespread in Sri Lanka. This book explains the background to the GATS negotiations and the international context across the globe, and looks in detail at the case of Sri Lanka, just embarking on the liberalization of its electricity sector. Turning Off the Lights will provide valuable ammunition to campaigners for a fairer approach to GATS, and to energy policy planners and researchers. About the Authors: Stephen Thomas is a senior research fellow at the University of Greenwich. He has researched widely in energy policy and planning. Iromi Ruana Rajepakse is a lawyer specializing in public, civil and labour law. She is the author of An Introduction to Law in Sri Lanka.