News
Country-wide blackout affects millions of people
View(s):By Kasun Warakapitiya
A country-wide power failure caused widespread inconvenience to millions of people last night.
Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) spokesman Noel Priyantha said a transmission system failure in the Kotmale-Biyagama transmission line was reported around 5.10 p.m.
He said investigations were continuing to find out what caused the failure, though a lightning strike could be a reason. They would also probe if it was due to sabotage. The sudden loss of power also left roads without street lights, while hospitals, business establishments, and houses were affected.
The National Water Supply and Drainage Board warned that the water supply in some areas could be affected due to the power failure.
Although the CEB official said power would be restored within three hours, they were able to restore power only in some areas, even by midnight. Colombo and suburban public hospitals had their power supplies restored last night, but in some areas, hospitals remained without power for more than five to six hours.
Even though the CEB said it had restored power in certain outstation areas such as Badulla, Ambalangoda, and Mathugama, areas such as Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Jaffna, and Batticaloa had prolonged darkness.
As a result of the breakdown, one of the three units operational at the Norochcholai plant had shut down. Officials said it would take three hours to put it into operation again.
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