August 05, Colombo (LNW): An extensive public hearing is set to take place today to investigate the island-wide power failure that occurred on February 09, 2025, leaving millions without electricity and triggering a cascade of disruptions across the country.
The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the national regulator, has announced that the inquiry will run from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo.
This inquiry comes in response to mounting public concern following the major blackout earlier this year, which halted day-to-day activities, disrupted vital services, and inflicted serious economic costs. Businesses, households, hospitals, and critical infrastructure all felt the impact of the sudden and prolonged outage.
PUCSL has stated that the hearing will delve into both the immediate technical failures and the chain of events that exacerbated the situation. According to preliminary findings, transmission operators were unable to supply approximately 5.5 gigawatt-hours of electricity on the day in question, forcing emergency load shedding measures that resulted in an additional shortfall of 4.6 gigawatt-hours. The blackout caused notable financial losses to electricity distribution entities, and raised questions about the overall preparedness of the national grid.
Beyond the technical scope, the Commission is expected to consider the wider social and economic implications of the blackout, including the impact on public trust, commercial activity, and essential services.
The hearing is open to public scrutiny, and citizens who wish to learn more have been invited to contact the PUCSL for further details.
