The regulation of the electricity industry is assigned to the PUCSL under the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka Act, No. 35 of 2002 and Sri Lanka Electricity Act, No. 20 of 2009.

There are three main activities in the electricity industry, namely generation, transmission and distribution (including supply) of electricity;

Generation - production of electricity by power stations using various inputs;

Transmission - transportation of electricity at high voltages over long distances; and

Distribution - transport of electricity at lower voltage to individual consumers.

The Ceylon Electricity Board is engaged in all three activities, while the Lanka Electricity Company is engaged in the distribution and several Independent Power Producers are engaged in the generation of electricity.

The structure of the electricity industry is provided below