Sri Lanka experienced a nationwide electricity blackout lasting approximately six hours on Sunday, affecting the entire island and disrupting power for its population of around 22 million. The outage began around midday and continued until dusk, with electricity gradually restored in phases, according to the state electricity authority.
Officials attributed the blackout to a disruption in the national grid, possibly caused by an imbalance between solar power generation and consumption. Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka said the exact cause remains under investigation but indicated that high solar output during a holiday weekend, when electricity demand was relatively low, likely triggered the failure.
The incident forced authorities to request that owners of rooftop solar systems temporarily disconnect their units to help stabilize the grid and facilitate the restoration of power. This measure proved critical in addressing the imbalance and enabling the gradual reactivation of the electrical network.
This blackout marked the second major grid failure linked to rising solar power integration in recent years. In February 2025, the national grid also collapsed for over six hours after solar generation exceeded consumption on a similarly bright Sunday. At that time, restoring electricity took more than six hours.
Sri Lanka currently has an installed solar power capacity slightly exceeding 3,000 megawatts, while daytime electricity demand ranges between 2,000 and 2,500 megawatts. The government has promoted solar adoption through tax incentives, encouraging many consumers to install rooftop panels and sell excess electricity back to the grid. However, the increased influx of distributed solar generation has introduced new challenges for the state utility in managing the grid’s stability.
The government plans to expand solar generation capacity significantly, aiming to reach nearly 4,400 megawatts within the next three years, representing a 388% increase over capacity in 2024. As solar power becomes a larger part of the national energy mix, ensuring grid resilience and balance will be critical to avoiding similar large-scale outages in the future.