(INT) SRI LANKANS GO BANANAS OVER POWERCUT

Sri Lanka experienced a nationwide power outage on Sunday after a monkey interfered with an electrical grid in a Colombo suburb. The power failure began at approximately 11:00 local time (05:30 GMT), plunging the island nation into darkness.

Authorities worked to restore power in some areas, but the full duration of the outage remained unclear. Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody confirmed that the incident caused an imbalance in the system.

“A monkey has come in contact with our grid transformer, causing an imbalance in the system,” Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody said, as per reports. The incident occurred in the southern part of Colombo, and engineers were working to restore power as quickly as possible.

By late Sunday, some areas had their electricity back, though it remained unclear how long it would take to stabilize the grid fully. The Ceylon Electricity Board confirmed the power disruption originated from an emergency at a substation but did not provide additional details.

Past power struggles resurface

The blackout reminded Sri Lankans of the severe power cuts they endured during the economic crisis of 2022. That year, the country faced months of electricity shortages as fuel supplies dwindled.

With fuel stations running out of petrol and diesel, thermal power plants were forced to ration electricity, leaving residents without power for up to 13 hours per day. The latest outage, though caused by an unexpected animal encounter, highlighted the fragility of the country’s power infrastructure. More of this article (Interesting Engineering) - link - more like this (Sri Lanka) - link - more like this (failure) - link - more like this (grid) - link