Power disruptions in several areas have been reported today due to the tripping off of two 220KV transmission cables from Kothmale to the Biyagama Grid Sub-Station, Power and Energy Development Director and Media Spokesperson Sulakshana Jayawardena said.

He told the Daily Mirror that due to tripping of the transmission lines, the Mahaweli hydro generation had stopped and the station experienced a frequency drop situation.

Therefore, certain sub-grid stations were unable to function and were automatically switched off.  

"Several sub-grid stations (feeders) were programmed not to run at low frequency and those feeders were automatically switched off," Jayawardane said.

Due to that, several areas experienced blackouts. The subgrid stations programmed to operate at a low frequency were not tripped off and continued with the power supply, he said.

He stated that the sudden power outage affected sub-grid stations in Biyagama, Kotugoda, Habarana, Galle, Matara, Pannipitiya, Rathmalana, Sri Jayawardhanapura, Kurunegala, Kiribathkumbura, Athurugiriya, Kosgama, and Sapugaskanda.

The whole country was not in darkness, but certain areas had the electricity supply, Jayawardane said.

However, the CEB maintenance services are already deployed to restore the power supply with the least possible delay, Jayawardena added. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)