A monkey’s unexpected intrusion at an electrical sub-station in Sri Lanka led to a nationwide power outage on Sunday, leaving large parts of the country without electricity for several hours, officials confirmed.
The blackout began around 11:30 AM (0600 GMT) and, while power was gradually restored in some areas, authorities were still working to fully restore the grid hours later.
Monkey Disrupts Power Grid
Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody informed reporters that the disruption occurred after a monkey came into contact with a grid transformer, creating an imbalance in the power system. The incident took place in a southern Colombo suburb and immediately affected the electricity supply across the island nation.
“Engineers are attending to it to try and restore the service as soon as possible,” Jayakody said, without confirming how long the full restoration would take.
Sri Lanka’s Past Electricity Woes
The island nation has faced electricity challenges in recent years, most notably in 2022, when an economic crisis led to months of blackouts. Fuel shortages forced authorities to ration electricity for up to 13 hours a day, severely impacting daily life.
Although Sunday’s outage was not linked to fuel shortages or grid failures, the unexpected nature of the disruption highlights vulnerabilities in Sri Lanka’s power infrastructure.
Authorities are now assessing the extent of the damage caused by the monkey’s intrusion and working on preventive measures to avoid similar incidents in the future.
Sources By Agencies
