(UTV | COLOMBO) – Sri Lanka’s Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila on Monday (29) assured there will be no power cuts despite claims of a fuel shortage in the country.
Responding to MP Ranil Wickremesinghe’s concerns of Sri Lanka not having sufficient foreign exchange for fuel, the Minister said that a decision was made to shut down the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery for 50 days for maintenance, and during this period Sri Lanka’s electricity requirement will be met via hydropower generation.
“We have sufficient fuel for additional 40 days for power generation, after the refinery is reopened,” he told the house.
However, Wickremesinghe warned that even though reservoirs are full at present, a portion of the water will be released for harvesting and the remainder left for power generation, with this situation by March 2022, Sri Lanka will face a crisis along with the food shortage.
State Minister Shehan Semasinghe admitted that the pandemic made an impact on the country’s foreign reserves, however, the government has been able to successfully meet its debt servicing while making arrangements to balance the foreign reserves.
