Steps taken to reduce use of incandescent lighting by 50%: Amaraweera

To deal with the power crisis, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera directed officials and all of its affiliates to take steps to reduce the use of incandescent bulbs by at least 50% during the day.

While addressing an event at the ministry, he said all public and private institutions should use electricity sparingly to prevent wastage of electricity as there is a possibility of a power crisis in the country in the near future.

"The government is faced with many problems in the recent years, such as the gas crisis as well as rising  cost of living. Currently, there is difficulty in purchasing fuel due to dollar crunch, and there is a possibility of a power cut in the future. But to deal with this situation, you need to use that power as carefully as possible, " he said.

Therefore, all public sector departments, corporations, boards, and local government bodies should take steps to prevent street lights from being lit during the day, he said.

He also said that in some parts of the country, street lights are lit even during the day, wasting electricity.

Therefore, the minister emphasized that it is the responsibility of every citizen to use electricity as sparingly as they can at this critical juncture. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)