As of 4:30 PM on Sunday, the electricity authorities reported that 80 per cent of the grid had been restored. Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Energy requested rooftop solar users to temporarily switch off their equipment to assist in stabilising the system.
A nationwide power failure struck Sri Lanka on Sunday morning, leaving the entire island without electricity. The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) confirmed the blackout, stating that efforts were underway to restore supply as quickly as possible.
“We are making all efforts to restore supply after the blackout which hit the entire country,” the CEB said in an official statement, offering an apology to affected customers. However, no immediate cause was provided.
While past blackouts have been attributed to issues such as solar power-induced grid instability, transmission line failures, or the tripping of large coal plants, utility sources indicated that generator tripping was not responsible for this incident. Instead, a more unusual cause has emerged as a potential factor in the outage.
According to a report by Newswire Lanka, Power Minister Kumara Jayakodi suggested that a monkey may have triggered the failure by interfering with the Panadura grid substation. The Minister stated that the animal’s actions led to a major disruption in the electricity grid, affecting supply across the nation. However, the Ministry of Power and Energy later described the event as an “emergency at the Panadura substation” without confirming the Minister’s claim.
However, the statement from the Ceylon Electricity Board did not give a reason, but one official said requesting anonymity that solar power has led to grid instability (so-called Sunny day blackouts) in the past as had transmission line failures and tripping of large coal plants.
Grid being Restored
Sunday is generally a low-load day, but strong sunlight between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM can create frequency management challenges, making the grid more susceptible to cascading failures, according to industry analysts. Attempts to re-energize the grid can also result in secondary failures, further delaying restoration efforts. In a similar power failure in 2020, engineers were only able to fully restore electricity after sunset due to surges in frequency.
As of 4:30 PM on Sunday, the CEB reported that 80 per cent of the grid had been restored. Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Energy requested rooftop solar users to temporarily switch off their equipment to assist in stabilising the system.
The CEB has yet to issue an official explanation for the outage. Investigations are ongoing, and further updates are expected as restoration efforts continue.
