OUTDATED NATIONAL GRID GOES OUT AGAIN

• Sri Lanka’s national grid is so outdated that even a monkey can cause an islandwide blackout
• Govt. calls for an urgent report over yesterday’s power outage
• Probe ongoing to determine if a fight by a group of monkeys inside the Panadura power station caused the disturbance 
• Engineers say they had been warning consecutive governments for years to upgrade the system or face frequent blackouts
• A large consumption of solar power is not connected to the main central system
• Discussions ongoing for hydro power plant and a grid connectivity with India
•  Urgent rotating turbines are required to have a firm grid
• Successive Presidents have boasted about working towards a digital economy but have failed to address the basic requirements 

By JAMILA HUSAIN

Sri Lanka was once again plunged into utter chaos yesterday morning when an islandwide power outage hit the districts at around 10.45 am, disrupting the lives of its citizens and causing millions of losses to businesses and industries that were operating even on a Sunday.   

As the power went out last morning, the engineers from the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) plunged into action to determine what had gone wrong and within a short while, detected the area which had caused the disturbance - the Panadura Power Station.   

Engineers rushed to the scene and worked for hours to restore the power and by late night yesterday, power had been fully restored in all districts of the island.As reasons for the outage was desperately searched for, sources from the Power and Energy Ministry said that the reason was a group of monkeys. According to the Ministry, a group of monkeys had jumped into the Panadura Power Station yesterday morning and ended up in a scuffle resulting to one monkey hitting the transmission line leading to an immediate imbalance in the power grid.   

The transmission line tripped and within minutes, since the consumption from the solar plants was very high, the national grid shut down.   

However, whilst visiting the power station last afternoon, residents in the area were doubtful if a monkey could have caused the blackout. In fact they said that they heard a loud explosion from the plant and saw smoke rising from the area soon after. Within minutes thereafter the power went out.   

The security guard at the Panadura power station said that he too heard a loud explosion and saw a ball of fire. Thereafter engineers rushed to the scene. When journalists questioned him if a monkey could have been the cause of the blackout, he said that was not true. “Monkeys jump into the power station very often. But this does not seem to have been caused by a monkey,” he said.   

Even by yesterday evening, sources from the CEB said they could not specify the exact reason for the transmission line in Panadura to trip. Sources however said that the monkey story, as mentioned by the Power and Energy Minister Kumara Jayakodi could be true as the entire national power grid was so outdated that even a monkey could cause an islandwide blackout.   

Sources said that presently Sri Lanka has a large solar power usage but these plants are not connected to the main national grid. At least 1000 megawatts are being consumed by the solar power usage.   

While sources insist that renewable plants should also enter the main central system, the national grid itself should be updated with bigger turbines and hydro power plants.   

Discussions are ongoing for a grid connectivity with India while separate discussions are also ongoing to set up a hydro power plant which can pump water through the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir.   

“These may be the immediate solutions but past governments have failed to act or upgrade the systems. In fact the national power grid is in such a weakened state that frequent islandwide power outages maybe expected if there is a disturbance even in one of our lines,” a senior source familiar with the system said.   

If even a monkey may have caused the power outage, it is difficult to understand how political leaders have boasted of working towards digital economies when the country’s own national power grid needs an urgent upgrade.   

The government has urgently called for an explanation and the Daily Mirror learns that a detailed report will be presented to the government soon along with the urgent solutions required to prevent future blackouts.   

Island-wide Power Outage Incident, according to informed sources

At approximately 10:45 AM yesterday, a total power outage occurred across the national electricity grid.  
Preliminary Cause Identified

According to informed sources, the primary cause identified so far is the combination of:  
 - Low electricity demand during Sunday midday  
 - A high percentage of power generation coming from solar energy, which has relatively lower stability compared to conventional sources.  

However, this situation is being further investigated through a proper inquiry before confirming the exact cause.
Sequence of Events Leading to the Blackout

 - A sudden power loss occurred at the Panadura Grid Substation  
 - Due to low demand and high solar power generation, the national grid was already in a low stability condition  
 - This triggered an imbalance in the system, leading to a situation where the automated emergency shutdown mechanisms failed to stabilize the grid  

Measures to Prevent Future Power Outages
To prevent similar blackouts in the future, the CEB and the Ministry of Power and Energy are already working on:  
 • Accelerating battery energy storage projects (BESS)  
 • Fast-tracking pump storage hydropower projects.  

Regular powercuts for next few days because of Norochcholai breakdown

By Kelum Bandara

The country will experience constant power cuts for the next few days because of the breakdown of the Norochcholai coal power plant as a result of yesterday’s blackout .  

As a result of the breakdown of the plant which generates 900 megawatts of electricity, there is a gap between demand and supply. It will lead to power cuts , a top source said.  

The CEB is expected to announce scheduled power-cuts today for the next few days.  

A senior engineer responds:

In recent times, public attention has been misdirected against CEB engineers, with claims that they oppose solar energy and favour diesel power plants, often influenced by different government narratives. However, this incident clearly demonstrates that their long-standing technical argument—that a certain amount of firm power (whether from diesel, coal, or other fuel sources) is essential to maintain system inertia while allowing for higher renewable energy penetration—remains valid. Ensuring a balanced energy mix, rather than an extreme shift in either direction, is crucial for the stability and reliability of Sri Lanka’s national grid.

Committee to probe blackout

By Kelum Bandara  

A committee will be set up to investigate the exact reason for the countrywide power outage and recommend steps to avert it in future,an official said yesterday.   

A top official of the Energy Ministry told Daily Mirror yesterday that it is always important to take preventive measures in the future.  

The whole country experienced disruption to power supply yesterday. It took hours for the Ceylon Electricity Board(CEB) to restore power supply.  

In the past, there were instances where blackouts were experienced.