On January 3, many parts of the country faced unexpected and unannounced two-hour power cuts. Though the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) had warned that power cuts during the month of March would be a possibility due to several factors, the earlier than expected power cuts had left the public disgruntled.Many even complained to the authorities. At least on the face of it, this was a sign of the deepening power crisis in the country.The CEB is said to be currently in a deep financial crisis. Unable to clear its debt to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) officials say the CEB has exceeded its credit limit leaving the CPC to halt supplying the CEB with the necessary fuel for power generation.The CEB currently owes the CPC 83 billion rupees and 4.3 billion to independent power producers after being hit with an 85 billion rupee loss in 2019.
