Sri Lanka announces staged electricity cuts after coal plant remains offline
One-hour power cuts are planned across Sri Lanka from 19 October after a nationwide blackout left the utility facing a reported 300MW shortfall.
Sri Lanka announced staged electricity cuts across the island from the evening of 19 October after a nationwide blackout on 17 October left a coal-fired plant offline. The state utility said customers would lose power for one hour in stages during a four-hour evening period while it works to restore generating capacity.
Buddhika Samarasekara, a spokesman for the utility, told reporters in Colombo that the arrangement would initially run for three days, until the plant could be restarted. He said the utility faced a 300MW shortage until the plant was reconnected. The three-day period is an initial plan, rather than a confirmed date for the plant's return.
Why the Norochcholai plant remains offline
Samarasekara attributed the 17 October blackout to a malfunction in one of three generators at the coal-fired complex north of Colombo. Sri Lanka Guardian reported that the Norochcholai plant remained disconnected while the National System Operator carried out safety procedures before reconnection. It said the operator had opened an internal investigation into the sequence and underlying causes of the outage, with no timetable for completing it or clearing the plant to return.
The reports give different capacity figures: AFP describes the coal-fired complex as 900MW, while Sri Lanka Guardian describes the offline Norochcholai plant as 810MW. The operator's account, as reported by Sri Lanka Guardian, says a generating unit disconnected at about 11:43am on 17 October and the national power system collapsed in less than 30 seconds. It distinguishes that precautionary disconnection from the subsequent grid failure, which it said was not a normal consequence.
How power was restored after the blackout
According to the operator's timeline reported by Sri Lanka Guardian, major hydropower units were back online by 12:11pm on 17 October, allowing the system to restart in four sections. Essential services, including major hospitals, water treatment plants and the airport, had power by about 3pm. Grid substations were reconnected by around 5pm, restoring supply to most consumers, the operator said.
AFP reported that rooftop solar generation complicated restoration because electricity continued to flow after the grid shut down. Authorities repeatedly asked solar system owners to disconnect their equipment as they worked to stabilise the network. The report said restoration of the national supply took around 11 hours.
The system operator expected rainy weather to support hydropower output and lower demand to help manage the loss of the coal plant over the following days, Sri Lanka Guardian reported. Those expectations underpin its near-term supply arrangements while safety checks and the investigation continue.
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Sources and context
- Sri Lanka rations electricity after coal plant breakdownThe Straits Times, carrying AFP reporting
- Sri Lanka’s 810MW Coal Power Plant to Remain Offline After Nationwide BlackoutSri Lanka Guardian
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.