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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2020}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2020}}
On 17 August 2020, at around 12.30 pm [[Sri Lanka Standard Time|SLST]] in the afternoon ([[UTC+5:30]]), [[Power cut|electrical blackouts]] in [[Sri Lanka]] occured nationwide which lasted for over seven hours due to a transmission technical failure at the [[Yugadanavi Power Station|Kerawalapitiya Grid-Sub statio]]<nowiki/>n affecting the entire 21 million population.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sri Lanka plunged into darkness as power outage hits entire nation|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2020/aug/17/sri-lanka-plunged-into-darkness-as-power-outage-hits-entire-nation-2184602.html|access-date=2020-08-17|website=The New Indian Express}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-17|title=Island-wide Power Cut due to an issue in the transmission system|url=https://www.newsfirst.lk/2020/08/17/island-wide-power-cut-due-to-an-issue-in-the-transmission-system/|access-date=2020-08-17|website=Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Electricity supply island-wide was disrupted|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2020/08/17/local/226107/electricity-supply-island-wide-was-disrupted|access-date=2020-08-17|website=Daily News|language=en}}</ref> The [[Ceylon Electricity Board]] revealed that the cause of power cut is yet to be known terming it as unspecified failure.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Vyshnavy|date=2020-08-17|title=Electricity supply disrupted around the island {{!}} Colombo Gazette|url=https://colombogazette.com/2020/08/17/electricity-supply-disrupted-around-the-island/|access-date=2020-08-17|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-17|title=Sri Lanka power grid in total cascading failure|url=https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-power-grid-in-total-cascading-failure-73078,%20https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-power-grid-in-total-cascading-failure-73078/|access-date=2020-08-18|website=EconomyNext}}</ref> The Ministry of Power stated that a special committee is appointed to investigate on the probe regarding the root cause behind the blackout.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Weerasooriya|first=Sahan|title=Committee appointed to probe unexplained power cut|url=http://island.lk/committee-appointed-to-probe-unexplained-power-cut/|access-date=2020-08-18|language=en-US}}</ref>
On 17 August 2020, at around 12.30 pm [[Sri Lanka Standard Time|SLST]] in the afternoon ([[UTC+5:30]]), [[Power cut|electrical blackouts]] in [[Sri Lanka]] occured nationwide which lasted for over seven hours due to a transmission technical failure at the [[Yugadanavi Power Station|Kerawalapitiya Grid-Sub statio]]<nowiki/>n affecting the entire 21 million population.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sri Lanka plunged into darkness as power outage hits entire nation|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2020/aug/17/sri-lanka-plunged-into-darkness-as-power-outage-hits-entire-nation-2184602.html|access-date=2020-08-17|website=The New Indian Express}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-17|title=Island-wide Power Cut due to an issue in the transmission system|url=https://www.newsfirst.lk/2020/08/17/island-wide-power-cut-due-to-an-issue-in-the-transmission-system/|access-date=2020-08-17|website=Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Electricity supply island-wide was disrupted|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2020/08/17/local/226107/electricity-supply-island-wide-was-disrupted|access-date=2020-08-17|website=Daily News|language=en}}</ref> The [[Ceylon Electricity Board]] revealed that the cause of power cut is yet to be known terming it as unspecified failure.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Vyshnavy|date=2020-08-17|title=Electricity supply disrupted around the island {{!}} Colombo Gazette|url=https://colombogazette.com/2020/08/17/electricity-supply-disrupted-around-the-island/|access-date=2020-08-17|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-17|title=Sri Lanka power grid in total cascading failure|url=https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-power-grid-in-total-cascading-failure-73078,%20https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-power-grid-in-total-cascading-failure-73078/|access-date=2020-08-18|website=EconomyNext}}</ref> The Ministry of Power stated that a special committee is appointed to investigate on the probe regarding the root cause behind the blackout.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Weerasooriya|first=Sahan|title=Committee appointed to probe unexplained power cut|url=http://island.lk/committee-appointed-to-probe-unexplained-power-cut/|access-date=2020-08-18|language=en-US}}</ref>


== Development ==
== Development ==
The outage also caused disruption to day-to-day activities of the public, [[Traffic congestion|traffic block]] in [[Colombo]] due to malfunctioning of the traffic signals and water supply services.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ferguson|first=Emily|date=2020-08-17|title=Sri Lanka power cut: Entire country loses power due to huge error|url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1323697/sri-lanka-power-cut-sri-lanka-power-failure-powercutLK|access-date=2020-08-17|website=Express.co.uk|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=66505|access-date=2020-08-17|website=www.adaderana.lk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-17|title=Island-wide Power Cut disrupts water supply to Colombo|url=https://www.newsfirst.lk/2020/08/17/island-wide-power-cut-disrupts-water-supply-to-colombo/|access-date=2020-08-17|website=Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst|language=en}}</ref> The blackout which started in the midday continued towards the latter part of the day as authorities failed repeatedly to restore the power supply.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sri Lanka plunged into darkness as power outage hits entire nation|url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/sri-lanka-power-outage-nationwide-13028684|access-date=2020-08-17|website=CNA|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sri Lanka faces nationwide blackout due to power failure - Xinhua {{!}} English.news.cn|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/2020-08/17/c_139297204.htm|access-date=2020-08-17|website=www.xinhuanet.com}}</ref> However officials revealed that the power supply has been restored in the southern part of the country which was totally eliminated from the national grid.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-17|title=Sri Lanka in extended blackout as grid fails repeatedly – Update|url=https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-in-extended-blackout-as-grid-fails-repeatedly-update-73086,%20https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-in-extended-blackout-as-grid-fails-repeatedly-update-73086/|access-date=2020-08-17|website=EconomyNext}}</ref>
The outage also caused disruption to day-to-day activities of the public, [[Traffic congestion|traffic block]] in [[Colombo]] due to malfunctioning of the traffic signals and water supply services.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ferguson|first=Emily|date=2020-08-17|title=Sri Lanka power cut: Entire country loses power due to huge error|url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1323697/sri-lanka-power-cut-sri-lanka-power-failure-powercutLK|access-date=2020-08-17|website=Express.co.uk|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=66505|access-date=2020-08-17|website=www.adaderana.lk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-17|title=Island-wide Power Cut disrupts water supply to Colombo|url=https://www.newsfirst.lk/2020/08/17/island-wide-power-cut-disrupts-water-supply-to-colombo/|access-date=2020-08-17|website=Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst|language=en}}</ref> The blackout which started in the midday continued towards the latter part of the day as authorities failed repeatedly to restore the power supply.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sri Lanka plunged into darkness as power outage hits entire nation|url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/sri-lanka-power-outage-nationwide-13028684|access-date=2020-08-17|website=CNA|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sri Lanka faces nationwide blackout due to power failure - Xinhua {{!}} English.news.cn|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/2020-08/17/c_139297204.htm|access-date=2020-08-17|website=www.xinhuanet.com}}</ref> However officials revealed that the power supply has been restored in the southern part of the country which was totally eliminated from the national grid.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-17|title=Sri Lanka in extended blackout as grid fails repeatedly – Update|url=https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-in-extended-blackout-as-grid-fails-repeatedly-update-73086,%20https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-in-extended-blackout-as-grid-fails-repeatedly-update-73086/|access-date=2020-08-17|website=EconomyNext}}</ref>


Initially, spokesperson of the Ministry of Power claimed that the outage occured possibly due to the failure in the [[Yugadanavi Power Station|Kerawalapitiya Power Plant]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Afp|date=2020-08-18|title=Power outage hits entire Sri Lanka|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/power-outage-hits-entire-sri-lanka/article32378398.ece|access-date=2020-08-18|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> The Minister of Power [[Dullas Alahapperuma]] revealed that the outage would be resolved within a space of two hours but the restoration process delayed for hours due to cascading failures.<ref>{{Cite web|title=All island power cut - to be restored within two hours|url=https://www.hirunews.lk/english/248016/all-island-power-cut-to-be-restored-within-two-hours|access-date=2020-08-17|website=Hiru News|language=en}}</ref> The power was restored in most parts of the country including Colombo at around 8.30 pm in the night and was regarded as the worst nationwide blackout faced by the country since 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sri Lanka Faces Nation-Wide Blackout After Power Failure|url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/sri-lanka-faces-nation-wide-blackout-after-power-failure-2280948|access-date=2020-08-18|website=NDTV.com}}</ref> The blackout further aggravated the impact caused by the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka|COVID-19 pandemic in the country]]. The blackout didn't disrupt the [[Bandaranaike International Airport]], the main airport of the country which was closed for months due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] and hospitals, offices and other infrastructure had backup power generators.<ref>{{Cite news|last=France-Presse|first=Agence|date=2020-08-18|title=Whole of Sri Lanka hit by power blackout|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/18/whole-of-sri-lanka-hit-by-huge-power-blackout|access-date=2020-08-18|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
Initially, spokesperson of the Ministry of Power claimed that the outage occured possibly due to the failure in the [[Yugadanavi Power Station|Kerawalapitiya Power Plant]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Afp|date=2020-08-18|title=Power outage hits entire Sri Lanka|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/power-outage-hits-entire-sri-lanka/article32378398.ece|access-date=2020-08-18|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> The Minister of Power [[Dullas Alahapperuma]] revealed that the outage would be resolved within a space of two hours but the restoration process delayed for hours due to cascading failures.<ref>{{Cite web|title=All island power cut - to be restored within two hours|url=https://www.hirunews.lk/english/248016/all-island-power-cut-to-be-restored-within-two-hours|access-date=2020-08-17|website=Hiru News|language=en}}</ref> The power was restored in most parts of the country including Colombo at around 8.30 pm in the night and was regarded as the worst nationwide blackout faced by the country since 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sri Lanka Faces Nation-Wide Blackout After Power Failure|url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/sri-lanka-faces-nation-wide-blackout-after-power-failure-2280948|access-date=2020-08-18|website=NDTV.com}}</ref> The blackout further aggravated the impact caused by the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka|COVID-19 pandemic in the country]]. The blackout didn't disrupt the [[Bandaranaike International Airport]], the main airport of the country which was closed for months due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] and hospitals, offices and other infrastructure had backup power generators.<ref>{{Cite news|last=France-Presse|first=Agence|date=2020-08-18|title=Whole of Sri Lanka hit by power blackout|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/18/whole-of-sri-lanka-hit-by-huge-power-blackout|access-date=2020-08-18|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Revision as of 07:05, 18 August 2020

On 17 August 2020, at around 12.30 pm SLST in the afternoon (UTC+5:30), electrical blackouts in Sri Lanka occured nationwide which lasted for over seven hours due to a transmission technical failure at the Kerawalapitiya Grid-Sub station affecting the entire 21 million population.[1][2][3] The Ceylon Electricity Board revealed that the cause of power cut is yet to be known terming it as unspecified failure.[4][5] The Ministry of Power stated that a special committee is appointed to investigate on the probe regarding the root cause behind the blackout.[6]

Development

The outage also caused disruption to day-to-day activities of the public, traffic block in Colombo due to malfunctioning of the traffic signals and water supply services.[7][8][9] The blackout which started in the midday continued towards the latter part of the day as authorities failed repeatedly to restore the power supply.[10][11] However officials revealed that the power supply has been restored in the southern part of the country which was totally eliminated from the national grid.[12]

Initially, spokesperson of the Ministry of Power claimed that the outage occured possibly due to the failure in the Kerawalapitiya Power Plant.[13] The Minister of Power Dullas Alahapperuma revealed that the outage would be resolved within a space of two hours but the restoration process delayed for hours due to cascading failures.[14] The power was restored in most parts of the country including Colombo at around 8.30 pm in the night and was regarded as the worst nationwide blackout faced by the country since 2016.[15] The blackout further aggravated the impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The blackout didn't disrupt the Bandaranaike International Airport, the main airport of the country which was closed for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic and hospitals, offices and other infrastructure had backup power generators.[16]

Background

Sri Lanka's electricity demand is currently met by thermal power stations (54.59%), major hydroelectric power stations (33.50%), and wind farms (2.12%), small hydro facilities (8.01%) and other renewables such as solar (1.78%).[17] Sri Lanka as a whole faced major nationwide blackout during March 2016 which lasted for over eight hours.[18] The localised regional power cuts are common in Sri Lanka despite the rare occurrence of nationwide blackouts.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Sri Lanka plunged into darkness as power outage hits entire nation". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Island-wide Power Cut due to an issue in the transmission system". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Electricity supply island-wide was disrupted". Daily News. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  4. ^ Vyshnavy (17 August 2020). "Electricity supply disrupted around the island | Colombo Gazette". Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Sri Lanka power grid in total cascading failure". EconomyNext. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  6. ^ Weerasooriya, Sahan. "Committee appointed to probe unexplained power cut". Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  7. ^ Ferguson, Emily (17 August 2020). "Sri Lanka power cut: Entire country loses power due to huge error". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  8. ^ www.adaderana.lk http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=66505. Retrieved 17 August 2020. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ "Island-wide Power Cut disrupts water supply to Colombo". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Sri Lanka plunged into darkness as power outage hits entire nation". CNA. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  11. ^ "Sri Lanka faces nationwide blackout due to power failure - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Sri Lanka in extended blackout as grid fails repeatedly – Update". EconomyNext. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  13. ^ Afp (18 August 2020). "Power outage hits entire Sri Lanka". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  14. ^ "All island power cut - to be restored within two hours". Hiru News. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Sri Lanka Faces Nation-Wide Blackout After Power Failure". NDTV.com. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  16. ^ France-Presse, Agence (18 August 2020). "Whole of Sri Lanka hit by power blackout". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  17. ^ https://www.ceb.lk/front_img/img_reports/1595829840CEB_Annual_Report_2018.pdf
  18. ^ AFP. "Lanka plunged into darkness as power outage hits entire nation". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 17 August 2020.

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