Colombo: Sri Lanka It is turning off street lights to save electricity, a minister said on Thursday, as its worst economic crisis in decades caused more power cuts and halted trading on its main stock exchange.
The island of 22 million people is battling a rolling blackout for 13 hours a day as the government does not have enough foreign exchange for fuel imports.
“We have already instructed the authorities to switch off street lights across the country to help save electricity,” the power minister said. Pavitra Vanniarachchi told reporters.
Power cuts add to the woes of Sri Lankans already reeling under shortage of essential commodities and prices are skyrocketing.
Retail inflation climbed to 18.7% in March from the same period a year ago, statistics department said on Thursday. Food inflation reached 30.2% in March, partly driven by currency devaluation and a ban on chemical fertilisers last year, which was later reversed.
“This is the worst level of inflation that Sri Lanka has experienced in over a decade,” said Dimantha MathewHead of Research at First Capital Research.
Diesel shipments were expected from India under a $500 million line of credit on Saturday, Vanniarachi said, though he warned that would not fix the issue.
“Once it comes, we will be able to reduce the hours of load shedding, but unless it rains, the power cuts will probably have to continue for some time in May,” the minister said.
“We can’t do anything else.”
He said water levels in reservoirs that feed hydroelectric projects had fallen to record levels, while demand reached record highs during the hot, dry season.
stock slide
Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) on the request of brokers reduced daily trading from the normal four and a half hours to two hours due to power cuts for the rest of this week.
But shares tumbled after markets opened on Thursday and the CSE closed trading for 30 minutes – the third time in two days – after an index tracking major companies lost more than 5%.
“Concerns on the macro side, coupled with reports of increased power cuts coupled with shorter trading hours, is driving the negative sentiment,” it said. lights gamean analyst at a brokerage firm Lanka Securities,
The crisis is a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic coupled with timely tax cuts and historically weak government finances, which have led to a 70% fall in forex reserves over the past two years.
As of February, Sri Lanka had reserves of $2.31 billion, forcing the government to seek help. International Monetary Fund and other countries including India and China.
The island of 22 million people is battling a rolling blackout for 13 hours a day as the government does not have enough foreign exchange for fuel imports.
“We have already instructed the authorities to switch off street lights across the country to help save electricity,” the power minister said. Pavitra Vanniarachchi told reporters.
Power cuts add to the woes of Sri Lankans already reeling under shortage of essential commodities and prices are skyrocketing.
Retail inflation climbed to 18.7% in March from the same period a year ago, statistics department said on Thursday. Food inflation reached 30.2% in March, partly driven by currency devaluation and a ban on chemical fertilisers last year, which was later reversed.
“This is the worst level of inflation that Sri Lanka has experienced in over a decade,” said Dimantha MathewHead of Research at First Capital Research.
Diesel shipments were expected from India under a $500 million line of credit on Saturday, Vanniarachi said, though he warned that would not fix the issue.
“Once it comes, we will be able to reduce the hours of load shedding, but unless it rains, the power cuts will probably have to continue for some time in May,” the minister said.
“We can’t do anything else.”
He said water levels in reservoirs that feed hydroelectric projects had fallen to record levels, while demand reached record highs during the hot, dry season.
stock slide
Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) on the request of brokers reduced daily trading from the normal four and a half hours to two hours due to power cuts for the rest of this week.
But shares tumbled after markets opened on Thursday and the CSE closed trading for 30 minutes – the third time in two days – after an index tracking major companies lost more than 5%.
“Concerns on the macro side, coupled with reports of increased power cuts coupled with shorter trading hours, is driving the negative sentiment,” it said. lights gamean analyst at a brokerage firm Lanka Securities,
The crisis is a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic coupled with timely tax cuts and historically weak government finances, which have led to a 70% fall in forex reserves over the past two years.
As of February, Sri Lanka had reserves of $2.31 billion, forcing the government to seek help. International Monetary Fund and other countries including India and China.