In an unusual turn of events, a monkey caused a nationwide blackout in Sri Lanka on Sunday (Feb 9) disrupting power across the island. The outage, which began at 11:30 am local time (0600 GMT), is still being addressed, with full power restoration yet to be confirmed. The incident took place in a southern suburb of Colombo, and engineers are currently working to restore power.

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Here's what happened

Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody revealed that the blackout was caused when a monkey came into contact with a grid transformer, leading to a system imbalance. 

Kumara Jayakody told reporters, “A monkey has come in contact with our grid transformer, causing an imbalance in the system."

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Impact and restoration efforts

While some areas have regained power, the full extent of the outage remains unclear. The government is working swiftly to bring back normalcy, with engineers focused on repairing the damage caused by the animal’s interference.

The minister said, “Engineers are attending to it to try and restore the service as soon as possible."

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A reflection of past struggles

During the summer of 2022, Sri Lanka experienced prolonged electricity blackouts as the nation grappled with an economic crisis. The shortage of petrol and diesel at fuel stations led thermal power plants to restrict electricity supply to 13 hours daily.

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(With inputs from agencies)