The National Film Corporation (NFC) announced that Minister of Power and Energy Dullas Alahapperuma has agreed to grant a one year grace period for cinema theater owners to settle due electricity bills with the aim of providing relief for their financial difficulties caused by the closure of cinemas from March 2020 due to COVID-19 virus outbreak.
The NFC states that the decision was taken at a meeting between NFC Chairman Dr.Jayantha Dharmadasa and Power and Energy Minister Dullas Alahapperuma held on the instructions of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is also the Minister of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs.
Accordingly, this will provide an opportunity to settle the unpaid cinema electricity bills for the period from March to December 2020 in 12 equal installments.
Minister Alahapperuma has instructed the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Lanka Electricity Company (LECO) not to disconnect electricity due to arrears during this period.
Requests made by the Association of Film Exhibitors and challenges faced by Cinema owners including long-term inactivation of technical tools such as digital projectors during the COVID-19 pandemic situation were considered while making this decision.
Accordingly, around 194 Cinemas islandwide registered with the NFC are eligible for this concession. The cinemas which were closed due to COVID-19 outbreak were opened from yesterday (January 1).