Large rooftop solar owners asked to disconnect from grid during Poson

Colombo, June 26 (Daily Mirror ) -  As electricity demand is expected to fall during the Poson holidays, owners of rooftop solar systems with a capacity of 300 kW and above have been asked to disconnect from the national grid during daytime from June 27 to 29, Deputy Minister of Energy Arkam Ilyas informed Parliament today.

Addressing the House, the Deputy Minister said the temporary measure is being implemented to prevent a possible collapse of the national power system as electricity demand is expected to decline during the holiday period while solar generation remains high.

He said previous governments had encouraged the installation of rooftop solar systems without establishing an effective monitoring mechanism, leaving the national grid vulnerable during periods of excess electricity generation.

“There are around 250 large rooftop solar systems operating during the daytime. On public holidays, electricity generation exceeds demand. During the Vesak holidays, we had to disconnect 120 feeders to maintain the stability of the system,” Ilyas said.