Nationwide power outage hits Sri Lanka, restoration underway

A sudden power outage has affected the entire country of Sri Lanka.

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has confirmed the issue and stated that efforts are underway to restore power as quickly as possible.

According to the Ministry of Energy, an emergency situation at the Panadura Grid Substation, which belongs to the CEB, caused the nationwide blackout. The ministry explained that the outage resulted from an imbalance in the national power supply system following the issue at the substation.

While working to restore electricity, the ministry also expressed regret over the unexpected disruption.

CEB Chairman Dr. Tilak Siyambalapitiya assured the public that prompt action is being taken to restore power. Meanwhile, Secretary to the Ministry of Energy, Professor Udayanga Hemapala, confirmed that the outage was caused by an imbalance in the national grid.

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UPDATE – 05:55 PM:

The power supply has now been fully restored across the country, according to the Ministry of Energy.

Meanwhile, Power and Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody revealed that the nationwide power outage was caused by a monkey falling onto power lines at the Panadura grid substation.

Reportedly, a group of monkeys entered the Panadura Power Station and got into a spat, which interfered with the power grid and triggered the outage, sources from the Power and Energy Ministry said.

However, further investigations are ongoing.

The Ministry apologized for the inconvenience caused to the public and stated that steps were taken to restore power immediately.