Grace period for cinema theatres to pay electricity bill arrears: Power Minister

The Power Ministry has decided to provide a grace period for cinema theatre owners to settle the arrears of electricity bills due to COVID-19 situation, Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said.

Accordingly, they will be given an opportunity to settle the unpaid electricity bills from March to December 2020, in equal installments for the period up to December 2021.

The Minister had instructed the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Lanka Electricity Company (LECO) to refrain from disconnecting power supply due to arrears during this period.

The Minister said he had taken this decision considering the economic challenges faced by the cinema theatre owners as well as the long-term inactivation of technological equipment, including modern digital projectors during the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

He said around 194 cinema theatres are registered with the National Film Corporation and located islandwide, will be entitled to this concession on payment of electricity bills. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)