Countrywide Blackout in Sri Lanka Triggered by Monkey Incident

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – A nationwide blackout on February 11 sent shockwaves across the island, impacting over 22 million residents. The outage, which lasted six hours, was triggered by a monkey interfering with a transformer at a power station in a Colombo suburb, according to Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody.

The monkey’s contact with the grid transformer caused a substantial imbalance in Sri Lanka’s power system, affecting not only the grid but also the country’s only 900 MW coal-fired power plant, which was forced to operate in safe mode. As a result, state-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) announced one-hour power cuts beginning at 6 p.m. during peak demand hours.

“All efforts are being made to restore the grid to full capacity, but power cuts will be implemented to manage peak demand hours in the night,” the CEB said in a statement. On Monday and Tuesday, the island experienced 90-minute power cuts as engineers worked to stabilize the situation.

The unexpected incident revealed the fragile state of Sri Lanka’s power infrastructure. “One monkey = total chaos. Time to rethink infrastructure?” questioned a social media user, while others humorously compared the event to a scene from a comedy.

Prior to the incident, Sri Lankans endured a deep economic crisis in 2022, which led to rolling blackouts lasting up to 13 hours due to fuel shortages. CEB’s recent apology for the blackout did not provide clarity on how a single event could have such extensive repercussions.

Engineers prioritized restoring electricity to essential services including hospitals and water purification plants, but many households without generators remained in darkness for hours. “We are working around the clock to restore power to everyone,” Jayakody told reporters during a press conference.

Reactions online pointed to deeper concerns about the nation’s energy security and infrastructure. “The national power grid is in such a weakened state that frequent island-wide power outages may be expected if there is a disturbance in one of our lines,” an anonymous senior engineer remarked, as quoted in the Daily Mirror.

The monkey’s fate following the incident remains unknown, raising questions about both animal behavior and human encroachment into natural habitats. With an estimated 2 to 3 million toque macaques on the island, these animals have increasingly raided villages in search of food, further complicating human-wildlife interactions.

As Sri Lanka grapples with the aftermath of this bizarre incident, calls for significant upgrades to the power grid continue to grow, highlighting the urgent need for infrastructure improvements.