A nationwide blackout in Sri Lanka has been attributed to a monkey that entered a power station south of Colombo, disrupting the electricity supply across the island nation of 22 million people.

Authorities have begun restoring power, prioritising medical facilities and water purification plants.

Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody told reporters that the outage occurred when the monkey came into contact with a grid transformer, causing an imbalance in the system.

The blackout, which began around 11:00 local time (05:30 GMT) on Sunday, left many reliant on generators. Officials said it could take several hours to fully restore power.

The incident sparked criticism and humour on social media. “A rogue monkey knocked out Sri Lanka’s entire power grid after triggering a total failure at a substation in Colombo,” wrote X user Mario Nawfal. “One monkey = total chaos. Time to rethink infrastructure?” he added.

Tiny Kuwait, in grip of desert summer heat, announces power cuts after fuel disruption

Another X user, Sreeni R, posted an illustration of Hanuman, the Hindu deity depicted as a monkey, remarking, “Sri Lanka tasted monkey business in the past.”

Daily Mirror editor-in-chief Jamila Husain also commented: “Only in Sri Lanka can a group of monkeys fighting inside a power station cause an islandwide power outage.”

Power cuts plague Sylhet: Frustration growing among residents and businesses

A report published by the Daily Mirror on Monday noted that engineers had long warned successive governments about the need to upgrade the national power grid to prevent frequent blackouts. The report cited an unnamed senior engineer, who cautioned that the grid’s deteriorating state made it vulnerable to widespread outages even from minor disturbances.

Sri Lanka previously faced prolonged power cuts during its economic crisis in 2022.

Source: BBC