Sri Lanka restored electricity in stages after a nationwide failure on 17 October, its fifth countrywide collapse since February 2020. Engineers were investigating a possible connection with an earlier hydropower fault. Coal generation also remained offline, while the interruption temporarily stopped water treatment. The initial event behind the cascading collapse had not been confirmed.
Sri Lanka restored electricity in stages after a nationwide grid failure on 17 October. Supply returned to parts of Colombo, Gampaha, Galle and Badulla. The country’s National System Operator attributed the failure to instability in the transmission network. Engineers were investigating the initial trigger. It was the fifth nationwide collapse since February 2020.[1], [2]
Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka said a fault in one of Upper Kotmale hydropower station’s two units on 16 October could have contributed. The generation summary recorded the second unit tripping after differential current protection, removing 52 megawatts from the system. Internal sources said the other unit tripped the following morning; its role in triggering the national collapse remained unconfirmed. All three Lakvijaya coal-power units were offline. Engineers said the unit already under maintenance needed at least four more days, and the other two around a week. The National System Operator had not explained how the generation deficit would affect consumers.[1]
The National System Operator asked rooftop-solar owners to disconnect from the grid until further instructions. The electricity interruption also temporarily halted purification at Sri Lanka’s Ambatale and Biyagama water-treatment plants. The energy minister said generating stations other than Samanalawewa and New Laxapana had gone offline during the failure.[2]
