Is Monkey a Reason Behind the Nationwide Power Outage in Sri Lanka?

Yes, a report from the energy minister recently stated that the power cut is due to a monkey which is responsible for Sri Lanka’s entire nationwide power blackout. The blacked-out electricity covers the entire 22 million of the island where the breakdown started at about 11:00 AM on local time last Sunday. Gradual restoration is provided, giving way to health related facilities and treatment plants as high priority places to be reinstated.

How the Monkey Caused the Power Outage?

The unusual cause of the blackout occurred when a monkey wandered into a power station south of Colombo and came into contact with a grid transformer. The Energy Minister, Kumara Jayakody explained, “A monkey has come in contact with our grid transformer causing an imbalance in the system.” 

This surprising incident triggered a total power failure across the island with many people relying on generators while engineers worked to fix the issue. Although power was restored in some areas, officials warned that it might take several hours to bring the entire island back online.

This blackout also underscores some long-standing worries about the geriatric nature of Sri Lanka’s power grid. For years, engineers have been warning that an upgrade is needed, otherwise, the system remains forever susceptible to disruptions whether it’s big or small.