No scheduled power cuts yet

The Ministry of Power and Energy has denied reports of scheduled power cuts.The Ministry Suren Batagoda said a special meeting will be held tomorrow to discuss the prevalent power crisis in the country.

Batagoda noted an announcement will be made regarding power cuts only if the need arises.The Ceylon Electricity Board he said, is at present managing the supply of power despite difficulties. Batagoda also urged the public to use electricity sparingly and called on businesses to use generators.The Secretary confirmed that the CEB has been advised to impose power cuts and will urge industries for their corporation to have their generators running.

He also highlighted that local authorities will be requested to switch off certain street lights and also requested citizens to contribute to this endeavour by switching off at least three lights in residences.

He said as the country is experiencing severe drought conditions the entire Mahaweli Hydropower system has been suspended claiming the Ministry is experiencing a shortage of 1,300 megawatt to the national power grid.

Batagoda said the Minister of Energy and Power will do its utmost in avoiding power cuts noting that the supply of electricity during weekends is not a concern as the demand is low.

However he claimed the demand for electricity will increase between the 10th and 16th of April during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year season.

The Secretary said they have not officially approved any schedule for power cuts claiming a circular from 10 years ago is being shared across social media.

Meanwhile the General Manager of the CEB DW Gunewardene speaking to NewsRadio said as a schedule has been put together for daily power disruptions, as a short term solution to the power crisis.

However he noted that a final decision in this regard has not been reached.