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Grid infrastructureSri LankaEIR-2426

Islandwide power outage in Sri Lanka prompts request for rooftop solar systems to be switched off

Oct 2026Published 17 Oct 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

MajorOtherProvisionalNext update 17 Oct
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supply cut for about •• daysShown in the record →Full estimate

What happened

On 17 October 2026 the Daily Mirror reported that Sri Lanka was experiencing an islandwide power outage. The National System Operator confirmed that electricity supply had been interrupted across the country and that efforts were under way to restore power. Owners of rooftop solar power systems were asked to switch their systems off until further notice. Power interruptions were reported in several parts of the country before the islandwide outage was confirmed. The cause had not been officially confirmed at the time of publication, and no estimated time for restoration had been announced. The article does not report damage, injuries or the number of customers affected.

Contributing factors

The cause of the power interruption had not been officially confirmed at the time of publication.

Lessons learned

  1. Grid operators should have documented procedures for instructing rooftop solar systems to disconnect during a wide outage.
  2. Distributed solar owners need clear channels for receiving and acting on switch-off and reconnection instructions.
  3. Restoration plans should include staged re-energisation before distributed generation reconnects.

More lessons on worker safety and safe systems of work, design, standards and commissioning, from every incident on the register.

Source

dailymirror.lk

Published 2026-10-17. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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