Dullas apologises to public for power breakdown

• It happened only 96 hours after I was appointed as the subject minister. However I won’t use it as an excuse to avoid the issue

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana   

Minister of Power Dullas Alahapperuma tendered an apology to the general public for the electricity breakdown on August 17 2020, in Parliament yesterday.   

“I apologise to the people of Sri Lanka for the electricity breakdown as it had disrupted their lives while affecting the economy of the country. It happened only 96 hours after I was appointed as the subject minister. However I won’t use it as an excuse to avoid the issue,” the minister said.   

The minister pledged to convert the national power grid into a renewable energy based one. “ Presently the contribution of renewable energy is only 32 percent. However our aim is to increase this to 80 percent by the year 2030” he said.  This he said, was clearly announced in the policy statement of President Rajapaksa.