Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera says that the power cut will continue for two and a half hours until the Norochcholai power plant is reconnected to the national grid.
He points out that $ 34 million was paid yesterday for a heavy fuel oil/ furnace oil.
It is scheduled to land today and will be used for power generation and industries, the minister said.
The Norochcholai power plant has been shut down by one-third of its normal capacity since last week due to 70 days of planned maintenance.
The national power grid has lost nearly 300 megawatts due to the shutdown.