A power interruption lasting for about an hour was experienced in several areas around the island, last night (08).
This was due to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) suspending fuel supply to the thermal power plants.
The CPC has suspended the fuel supply over non-payment of arrears due to the corporation, stated Spokesman of the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy, Sulakshana Jayawardena.
Power consumers point out that they were severely inconvenienced due to sudden power failure.
According to Jayawardena, the reason behind this is the fact that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has to obtain 80% of the required electricity from thermal power plants.
The delay in the payment of about Rs 80 billion owed by the CEB to the CPC has resulted in the withdrawal of 150 MW from the system, he said.
Therefore, the power supply had to be restricted last night in order to manage the demand, said Jayawardena.
