Sri Lanka is experiencing a nationwide power outage, believed to be caused by solar power generation exceeding electricity demand, which disrupted the power grid system.
On Saturday, 17 Oct 2026, Sri Lanka faced a nationwide blackout after the country's main power grid malfunctioned, possibly due to solar power generation exceeding consumption. The outage lasted over two hours, and it remains unclear when power will be fully restored.
The government-owned Electricity Distribution Lanka (EDL) company said engineers are working urgently to fix the fault affecting the entire grid. Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka said officials hope to restore power "gradually."
“We ask all rooftop solar system owners to temporarily disconnect their systems until further notice to support efforts to restore the power grid,” the Energy Minister said in a brief statement.
Previously, Sri Lanka’s power grid shut down nationwide in February 2025 due to solar power generation exceeding demand on a sunny Sunday, requiring over six hours to restore electricity supply.
Currently, Sri Lanka has installed solar panels with a capacity of just over 3,000 megawatts, and the government aims to increase solar power capacity to nearly 4,400 megawatts within three years, even though daytime electricity demand is only about 2,000 to 2,500 megawatts.
Consumers have adopted solar energy encouraged by tax incentives and the ability to sell excess power back to the grid, causing system imbalances that the state electricity provider is struggling to manage.
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Source:cna