Power cuts may be unavoidable soon - Minister

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana

Colombo, March 18 (Daily Mirror) - Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody hinted out power interruptions as such a scenario could become unavoidable in the future despite the government’s efforts to maintain a continuous electricity supply.

Responding to a question raised by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa in the House this morning, the Minister said the government had so far managed to avoid power cuts despite challenges caused by conflicts in the Middle East, which have affected the energy sector.

“There would have been power cuts by now if the government had not been able to properly manage the energy sector in the wake of the Middle East conflict. However, a time may come when we will have to impose power interruptions. The government is doing its utmost to avoid such a situation,” he said.

The Minister said that authorities are closely monitoring the situation and taking steps to ensure an uninterrupted power supply for as long as possible.

SLPP MP D. V. Chanaka who responded said the power cuts will happen in two weeks’ time.

“The power that has been produced by the Norochcholai Power Plant on March 16, 2026 has been less than 150Mw than the usual capacity as per the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Systems Centre data. Some 3.5 million litres of diesel is needed to produce power to cover the 150Mw for a period of one week. As much as 14 million litres of diesel is needed to produce the same amount of power for a month. There will be power interruptions in two weeks. This was what the Minister hinted out earlier,” the MP said.

“The war situation in the Middle East cannot be blamed for power interruptions,” he added.