Sri Lanka: Rotational power cuts ongoing in multiple areas as of late March /update 1

Event

Authorities continue to implement rotational power outages across Sri Lanka as of late March. Officials are cutting power to various areas of Central, Eastern, Northern, North Central, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, and Western provinces during different time slots through 23:00 March 28, with the longest outages lasting nearly three and a half hours. Officials have enacted the outages in recent days amid nationwide gas shortages and insufficient power production at generators. Additional outages are probable in the coming days.

Business and transport disruptions are likely during the outages. Businesses without backup generators may have to suspend operations. Traffic lights and railway signaling mechanisms may not function, resulting in transport disruptions. Officials are likely to ration fuel, limiting fuel availability for vehicles. Increased use of hydropower plants to ease shortages may also exacerbate municipal water outages caused by electricity disruptions. Water filtration and security systems running on electricity may malfunction, increasing the risk of health issues and opportunistic crimes.

Advice

Confirm travel reservations in advance. Plan for ground travel delays. Any traveler encountering nonoperational traffic lights should treat the intersections as a four-way stop. Charge all batteries and mobile devices. Ensure generators have a sufficient fuel supply in case the outage becomes protracted. Restrict cellular phone use to emergencies if operating in an area without power. Conserve water as a precaution.