The National System Operator (NSO) says electricity has been restored to around 50% of the areas affected by the islandwide power outage that began this morning (17).
The NSO said restoration work had been progressing area by area since noon, with full restoration of the national grid expected by around 6.30 p.m.
According to the NSO, the nationwide outage occurred at around 11.45 a.m. due to instability in the transmission network, resulting in a complete failure of the national power grid.
Electricity has already been restored in several areas of the Colombo, Gampaha, Galle and Badulla districts.
The NSO is continuing restoration work and has requested owners of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to disconnect their systems until further notice to support the process.
Earlier, Energy Minister Anura Karunathilake said efforts were underway to restore the power system in stages as quickly as possible. Although the exact cause of the outage had not been identified, investigations were focusing on whether an operational failure at a power plant in Kotmale on October 16 had contributed to the system imbalance.
Meanwhile, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWS&DB) said water supply from the main pumping stations had returned to normal following the power outage. However, consumers have been advised to use water sparingly until further notice.
