Stories
Sri Lanka Suffers Major Islandwide Power Outage
N
News18•17-10-2026, 15:45
Sri Lanka Suffers Major Islandwide Power Outage
- •Sri Lanka experienced a massive islandwide power outage lasting more than three hours starting Saturday noon.
- •Essential services including water supplies, internet services, and mobile connectivity were severely disrupted.
- •Energy Minister Anura Karunatilaka stated that a sudden system failure caused the widespread electricity breakdown.
- •Authorities suggested that a failure at a hydropower station detected a day earlier might have contributed to the outage.
- •Rooftop solar panel owners were urged to stay disconnected from the grid until the power system is fully restored.
Key Questions Answered
The exact cause was not immediately clear, though Energy Minister Anura Karunatilaka stated that a sudden system failure caused the islandwide electricity breakdown and noted that a failure detected a day earlier at a hydropower station in the central hill country could have contributed to it.
The islandwide power outage began from around noon on Saturday and continued for more than three hours while authorities worked to restore electricity in stages.
The power failure affected water supplies, internet services, and mobile connectivity across the island, prompting the water supply agency to warn citizens against wasting water.
