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Duration of power cuts to reduce next week 

07 Apr 2022

  •  PUCSL reiterates need for cabinet minister/s for power/energy 
The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) said yesterday (7) that the number of hours of power cuts is most likely to gradually reduce in the coming week. The PUCSL also reiterated its request that the Government urgently appoint a cabinet minister or ministers for the power and energy sectors. “Currently, there are over six hours of power cuts per day. We believe that this will continue until tomorrow (8). The demand for electricity usually drops over the weekend. Additionally, we will receive a stock of diesel through the Indian line of credit. A furnace oil shipment, for which a prior payment was made, was due to arrive in the country today (7). We also heard today that the money for the payment for the diesel ship which was anchored off our coastline was allocated today. That is good news. As the PUCSL, our main aim is to provide some relief to the public in lieu of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year,” PUCSL Chairman Janaka Rathnayake told the media yesterday.  Furthermore, he requested the Government to urgently appoint a cabinet minister or ministers for the power and energy sectors as necessary decisions are required to be taken during this crisis.  On Wednesday (6), Sri Lanka received 36,000 metric tonnes (MT) of petrol and 40,000 MT of diesel under the $ 500 million Indian credit line. Last week too, the country received 40,000 MT of diesel under the same credit line.  In what is termed as the worst economic crisis in recent Sri Lankan history, the public stand for hours each day in queues to receive limited stocks of essential fuel and food items. The country is also grappling with a severe medicine shortage. The fuel shortage has adversely impacted the power sector as thermal power plants face routine shutdowns due to a lack of fuel. This is aggravated by the low water reserves needed to generate electricity using hydropower due to it being the dry season. As a result, Sri Lankan people have been struggling with nearly 13 hours of power cuts at the height of the crisis.


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