The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has released an official report clarifying the nationwide power outage that occurred on February 9, 2025, at 11:13 AM. Notably, the report does not mention monkeys as a cause, despite previous speculations.
According to the report, the outage was triggered by a technical failure at the 33kV Panadura grid substation, which led to a sudden voltage drop across the power grid. At the time of the incident, over 50% of the national electricity demand was being met through 800MW of solar power generation, supplemented by 470MW from the Norochcholai Lakvijaya Power Plant and 130MW from hydroelectric plants.
The high dependency on solar power caused the grid to operate at a low stability level, making it more vulnerable to disruptions. The failure resulted in an imbalance between power generation and consumption, which escalated into cascading failures, ultimately leading to a total blackout across the country.
The CEB report highlights that the increased use of solar power reduced the proportion of conventional power generation, making the grid more susceptible to voltage and frequency fluctuations. The sudden voltage drop caused multiple solar power systems to disconnect, further destabilizing the grid and exacerbating the imbalance between generation and consumption.
Additionally, the Norochcholai power plant shut down automatically, not due to an internal fault, but as a protective measure to prevent damage. This shutdown, while significant, helped avoid long-term power outages and infrastructure damage.
The CEB also cited the “Sunday Effect” as a contributing factor. Weekend power demand is significantly lower, especially from industrial and commercial consumers, while solar power production remains high. This results in a less stable grid, increasing the risk of sudden outages when unexpected failures occur.
The CEB assured the public that immediate and long-term corrective actions are being taken to prevent future incidents. Further details on these measures will be announced in due course.