The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has agreed to provide fuel to the crisis-stricken Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) that will be sufficient to generate power for the next two weeks.
Addressing a meeting that was held yesterday chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on the power crisis, Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila informed that the necessary diesel and furnace oil will be granted based on the existing stock of fuel at the CPC.
Stating that the CPC has faced a severe issue due to the dollar crisis, the Minister said despite facing difficulties measures will be taken to provide the necessary fuel in order to manage the current power crisis.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa has informed steps will be taken to obtain fuel from India after the next two weeks.
He explained that the fuel will be obtained via the US$ 500 million fuel credit line that has been arranged with India.
CEB officials have pointed out that if the necessary fuel is provided then the authority can provide an uninterrupted electricity supply.
Furthermore, the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Ajith Nivaard Cabraal has taken responsibility to release the two fuel tankers that are currently docked in the seas off Sri Lanka due to the dollar crisis.
Cabraal requested the CPC to inform him beforehand if there is a shortage of fuel so that necessary fuel can be arranged from the tankers containing diesel and petrol.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has also issued a directive to Minister of Power Gamini Lokuge to halt the disruption of the power supply.
On Tuesday (25), the CEB had warned that power cuts for a period of 1 ½ hour will be imposed due to a shortage of fuel to generate power.
Sri Lanka is unable to purchase the necessary fuel to generate power as a result of the dollar crisis.
However, as the CPC had provided the necessary fuel to generate power, it was announced that the power supply will be uninterrupted for the next 3 days, until today (27).
The CEB is set to convene today to review the current situation and will announce its decision on whether or not to impose power cuts. (NewsWire)