Stop operating in silos: Marikkar warns power utilities over repeated system failures

A parliamentary oversight committee has demanded immediate operational coordination between energy utilities and the public regulator to avert further islandwide power failures following Sri Lanka's latest national grid collapse.

The directive was issued by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Member of Parliament S.M. Marikkar, who chairs the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development, during a inquiry into the blackout of 17 October.

Preliminary investigative findings submitted to the committee revealed that the blackout occurred at 11.43 a.m. when output at Unit 1 of the Norochcholai coal power plant suddenly plunged from 187 megawatts to five megawatts.

At the time of the failure, the coal complex was generating 529 megawatts while rooftop solar installations were contributing 1,700 megawatts to the national network, creating a severe supply-demand imbalance that destabilised the system.

Grid operators re-established supply in phases by routing initial hydroelectric power through the Biyagama substation to restore essential feeders before 4 p.m.

Technical officials informed lawmakers that attempts to manage the crisis were hampered because numerous rooftop solar owners failed to comply with requests to disconnect their systems during the restoration phase.

Uncontrolled solar generation automatically re-enters the network when local feeders are energised, introducing unmonitored power that threatens to trip a fragile grid during recovery operations.

Data presented by the energy regulator also highlighted a fundamental structural shift in national power use, with peak electricity demand moving from traditional evening hours to daytime periods due to expanding commercial activity.

The committee chairperson urged authorities to educate the public on grid balancing complexities and requested a comprehensive final report to ensure future system resilience.

The recent collapse marks the second nationwide power outage in under two years, following a similar solar-related grid failure in February 2025 that took over six hours to rectify.