COLOMBO, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka on Monday announced island-wide power cuts following a breakdown in the island's only coal power plant.
The Power and Energy Ministry said the power-cut will be imposed island-wide, but not in the capital Colombo.
The electricity will be cut for 2.5 hours in the morning from 8:00 a.m. and for one hour in the evening from 6:00 p.m..
However the Power and Energy Ministry said that electricity will not be cut in hospitals around the country.
Sri Lanka was forced to impose power cuts after the coal power plant in the North-Western part of the country broke down on Saturday.
The Norochcholai coal power plant contributes to a major portion of Sri Lanka's electricity demand.
The power plant had malfunctioned several times in the past as well resulting in similar power cuts.
