Energy Secretary K.D.R. Olga yesterday claimed that the fuel crisis would come to an end next week with supplies and operations being normalised by Monday.

“The issues related to the supply of fuel in the country will be resolved by this Saturday and will be restored from next Monday,” Olga told a briefing organised by the Presidential Media Centre under the theme ‘Energy to strengthen the country’.

President’s Media Spokesman Kingsly Rathnayaka moderated the media briefing which was also attended by Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Chairman Sumith Wijesinghe.

Olga said a ship carrying diesel had already arrived at the Port of Colombo and the country was expected to receive 172,000 metric tons of diesel from four shipments this month.

She pointed out that several shipments of crude oil required for power plants had also been received (30,000 metric tons) which would enable power plants such as the plant on the West Coast to operate at full capacity. More crude oil shipments are due to arrive on 20 March.

“Once the fuel shipments are received, current issues related to fuel and electricity will be solved immediately. We have also taken steps to inform the relevant authorities about the required dollars as per our plans. The Secretary to the President, the Secretary to the Treasury and the Governor of the Central Bank are constantly monitoring the situation and are providing the necessary support to take this program forward,” Olga added.

Explaining the future plans for the energy sector, she said that after the upgrading of the Trincomalee oil tanks owned by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, it would be possible to supply oil to areas such as the North, North Central and Badulla without going through Colombo. It would save about Rs. 800 million a month, she further said.

Responding to a question on whether fuel prices could go up in the near future, the Secretary said that although there was a discussion on this, such a decision should be taken prudently.

CPC Chairman Sumith Wijesinghe responding to the questions raised by the journalists said that there was no shortage of fuel in the country and even though the supply of fuel was carried out in an ordinary manner, the fuel consumption had increased.

With the rise in fuel prices in the world market, there was a tendency for many consumers purchasing fuel for fear that domestic prices might also rise.

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