Sri Lanka plunges into 10-hour daily power cut as fuel crisis worsens

The island nation has been facing a seven-hour power outage since the beginning of the month.

The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday, March 29, 2022, imposed a nationwide 10-hour daily power cut due to shortage of hydro-electricity triggered by non-availability of fuel.

Sri Lanka is facing an unprecedented acute economic and energy crisis caused due to shortage of foreign exchange. A sudden rise in prices of key commodities and fuel shortage forced tens of thousands of people to queue for hours outside petrol filling stations. People are also facing long hours of power cuts daily.

All essentials are in short supply due to import restrictions forced by the forex crisis.

The daily power cuts in the island nation have been further extended Wednesday morning to 10 hours, officials said.

The country has been facing a seven-hour power outage since the beginning of the month.

“There is a shortage of 750 megawatt due to non availability of fuel to generate thermal power,” the chair of the Public Utilities Commission Janaka Ratnayaka said.

State-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has asked motorists not to queue outside fuel stations on Wednesday and Thursday to purchase diesel as it was unable to pay for a shipment that had arrived.