Srilanka, March 29 -- The country's power system is under mounting pressure, with engineers predicting that targeted night- outages may become necessary from next month. Energy sector engineers told the Sunday Observer yesterday that falling water levels in reservoirs and rising diesel costs are squeezing supply margins, forcing officials to consider short, rotational power cuts to stabilise the grid.

"Delaying such measures could lead to more severe, nationwide electricity breakdowns in the months ahead," a senior engineer at the Lakvijaya Power Plant said.

Officials said that multiple factors were straining the grid, including costly diesel generation, falling water levels in reservoirs, irrigation demands, and coal quality issues at ...