The Minister of Power has announced that daily power cuts will no longer be imposed from today (February 14), following the successful reconnection of one unit of the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant to the national grid.
The previously inactive plant has now resumed operations, with one of its three generators supplying 300 megawatts of electricity to the grid.
Sri Lanka experienced a nationwide power outage on February 9, starting at 11:15 a.m., due to an incident at the Panadura grid substation, where a monkey reportedly triggered an imbalance in the system. While power was fully restored by 6:00 p.m., the Norochcholai Power Plant’s automatic protocol system disconnected all three generators, leading to a 900-megawatt shortfall and further outages.
To manage the crisis, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) sourced electricity from thermal power plants, fully restoring supply by 9:45 p.m. However, the CEB had earlier warned of power cuts until Norochcholai was operational again.
As a result, island-wide power cuts of 1.5 hours were imposed on February 10 and 11, while a one-hour power cut was enforced on February 13. No interruptions occurred on Poya Day (February 12) due to lower demand.
With Norochcholai’s unit back in operation, the CEB has confirmed that regular power cuts will no longer be necessary.
