Sri Lanka enforces 13-hour power cut due to fuel shortage
Sri Lanka has enforced a nationwide 13-hour power cut, as an economic crisis deepens due to the government’s inability to provide fuel for generators, suspending routine hospital surgeries and resulting in more than a million employees working from home to save fuel.
The South Asian country enforced a 10-hour power cut on Wednesday, only to extend it by three hours the next day due to a shortage of oil to run power thermal generators, according to the state electricity regulator.
At least two hospitals reported suspending routine surgeries to save for emergency cases.
Low water reservoirs due to a lack of rain have also added to the crisis as more than half of Sri Lanka’s electricity is generated by hydropower.
The Indian Ocean island country has been struggling to import essentials, including food and fuel, as foreign exchange reserves fell by 70 percent in the past two years due to a reduction in the number of tourists exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, Janaka Ratnayake, said the power cuts were partly caused by the government’s inability to pay for a diesel shipment. The country has “no forex to pay,” and that is “the reality,” he said.
Ratnayake also urged more than a million employees to work from home to save fuel. “We made a request to the government to allow the public sector, which is about 1.3 million employees, to work from home for the next two days so we can manage the fuel and power shortages better.”
Fuel prices have risen by 76 percent since the beginning of the year, sparking protests across the country.
The government is seeking a bailout by asking for its 17th rescue package from the International Monetary Fund. It has also asked for loans from India and China.
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