10-hour power cut not acceptable,​  slams ICTA chief

The Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), the lead agency in the island nation for the implementation of information and communications technology initiatives by the government, yesterday slammed the authorities for failing to tackle 
the power crisis.

With businesses being plunged into darkness, ICTA Chairman Oshada Senanayake yesterday took to twitter to highlight the harmful implications of the prolonged power outages to the country’s ICT sector, which is a key foreign exchange earner.  “Ten-hour power cuts are simply not acceptable and will have major negative impacts on the ICT industry,” Senanayake tweeted.

He also said it is appalling to see the lack of planning and misdirection by the Public Utilities Commission (PUCLS), the power sector regulator. Senanayake asserted that the Commission is “compounding” matters.
The duration of power cuts has been on the rise in recent weeks as the country struggles to cater to demand amid dry weather and lack of foreign exchange to pay for diesel and furnace oil to power thermal power plants.