The 2020 Sri Lankan blackouts were a series of electrical blackouts that occurred on 17 August 2020, beginning around 12.30 pm SLST (UTC+5:30) and lasting over seven hours. The nationwide blackouts occurred due to a transmission technical failure at the Kerawalapitiya Grid-Sub station.[1][2][3] The Ceylon Electricity Board announced that the cause of the blackout had not yet been determined, describing it as an unspecified failure.[4][5] The Ministry of Power stated that a special committee had been appointed to investigate the root cause behind the blackout.[6]
The outage caused disruption in day-to-day activities of the public, including causing traffic congestion in Colombo due to malfunctioning of traffic signals and malfunctioning water supply services.[7][8][9][10][11] Power was restored to the south of the island relatively early, due to it being powered by the Samanala Dam.[12]
Initially, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Power claimed that the outage occurred due to a failure in the Yugadanavi Power Plant.[13] The Minister of Power Dullas Alahapperuma later stated that the outage would be resolved within a space of two hours but the restoration process was 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 and was regarded as the worst nationwide blackout faced by the country since 2016.[15] The blackout further aggravated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The blackout did not disrupt Bandaranaike International Airport, the main airport of the country, which was closed for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals, offices and other infrastructure had backup power generators.[16]
Backgroundedit
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] Localised regional power cuts are common in Sri Lanka although nationwide blackouts are rare.
^AFP. "Lanka plunged into darkness as power outage hits entire nation". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
April 13, 2024
2020, lankan, blackouts, were, series, electrical, blackouts, that, occurred, august, 2020, beginning, around, slst, lasting, over, seven, hours, nationwide, blackouts, occurred, transmission, technical, failure, kerawalapitiya, grid, station, ceylon, electric. The 2020 Sri Lankan blackouts were a series of electrical blackouts that occurred on 17 August 2020 beginning around 12 30 pm SLST UTC 5 30 and lasting over seven hours The nationwide blackouts occurred due to a transmission technical failure at the Kerawalapitiya Grid Sub station 1 2 3 The Ceylon Electricity Board announced that the cause of the blackout had not yet been determined describing it as an unspecified failure 4 5 The Ministry of Power stated that a special committee had been appointed to investigate the root cause behind the blackout 6 Contents 1 Development 2 Background 3 See also 4 ReferencesDevelopment editThe outage caused disruption in day to day activities of the public including causing traffic congestion in Colombo due to malfunctioning of traffic signals and malfunctioning water supply services 7 8 9 10 11 Power was restored to the south of the island relatively early due to it being powered by the Samanala Dam 12 Initially a spokesperson of the Ministry of Power claimed that the outage occurred due to a failure in the Yugadanavi Power Plant 13 The Minister of Power Dullas Alahapperuma later stated that the outage would be resolved within a space of two hours but the restoration process was 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 and was regarded as the worst nationwide blackout faced by the country since 2016 15 The blackout further aggravated the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic in the country The blackout did not disrupt Bandaranaike International Airport the main airport of the country which was closed for months due to the COVID 19 pandemic Hospitals offices and other infrastructure had backup power generators 16 Background editSri 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 Localised regional power cuts are common in Sri Lanka although nationwide blackouts are rare See also edit nbsp Sri Lanka portal nbsp Energy portal2019 Sri Lanka electricity crisis 2023 Sri Lankan blackoutsReferences edit Sri Lanka plunged into darkness as power outage hits entire nation The New Indian Express Retrieved 17 August 2020 Island wide Power Cut due to an issue in the transmission system Sri Lanka News Newsfirst 17 August 2020 Retrieved 17 August 2020 Electricity supply island wide was disrupted Daily News Retrieved 17 August 2020 Vyshnavy 17 August 2020 Electricity supply disrupted around the island Colombo Gazette Retrieved 17 August 2020 Sri Lanka power grid in total cascading failure EconomyNext 17 August 2020 Retrieved 18 August 2020 permanent dead link Weerasooriya Sahan Committee appointed to probe unexplained power cut Retrieved 18 August 2020 Ferguson Emily 17 August 2020 Sri Lanka power cut Entire country loses power due to huge error Express co uk Retrieved 17 August 2020 Traffic lights out due to power outage heavy traffic in Colombo www adaderana lk Retrieved 17 August 2020 Island wide Power Cut disrupts water supply to Colombo Sri Lanka News Newsfirst 17 August 2020 Retrieved 17 August 2020 Sri Lanka plunged into darkness as power outage hits entire nation CNA Retrieved 17 August 2020 Sri Lanka faces nationwide blackout due to power failure Xinhua English news cn www xinhuanet com Retrieved 17 August 2020 Sri Lanka in extended blackout as grid fails repeatedly Update EconomyNext 17 August 2020 Retrieved 17 August 2020 Afp 18 August 2020 Power outage hits entire Sri Lanka The Hindu ISSN 0971 751X Retrieved 18 August 2020 All island power cut to be restored within two hours Hiru News Retrieved 17 August 2020 Sri Lanka Faces Nation Wide Blackout After Power Failure NDTV com Retrieved 18 August 2020 Whole of Sri Lanka hit by power blackout The Guardian Agence France Presse 18 August 2020 ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 18 August 2020 Annual report 2018 Retrieved 22 March 2023 AFP Lanka plunged into darkness as power outage hits entire nation Khaleej Times Retrieved 17 August 2020 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2020 Sri Lankan blackouts amp oldid 1189507096, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
