Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Power and Energy is implementing technical reforms — including specialised software, battery energy storage systems and a synchronous condenser — to prevent a recurrence of the countrywide power outage of February 9, 2025, Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka told Parliament on Tuesday.
Two committees, one from the ministry and another from the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), made twelve recommendations after the outage to secure the national grid against future instability. “We have instructed the Ceylon Electricity Board to implement the recommendations of the ministry committee immediately to ensure system stability,” Karunathilaka said.
The CEB is procuring “RE-desk” software for its System Control Centre to monitor and control the growing number of renewable energy plants connected to the grid. A separate forecasting system for renewable energy production has already been purchased and is operational.
For physical stability, the government has begun setting up battery energy storage systems (BESS) and is moving to install a synchronous condenser at the New Habarana Grid Substation with World Bank funding. The minister also said a special operational policy is now in place for periods of low electricity demand — Sundays and public holidays — to increase the inertia of traditional generation and keep grid frequency stable.
The CEB has been instructed to update and publish protection parameters and re-evaluate load-shedding settings to better reflect the current energy mix. A four-member monitoring committee has been appointed to oversee progress.
The reforms come as the Cabinet has separately approved a 300MW battery storage plan and ordered rooftop solar inverter upgrades for grid stability as renewable share rises. Tuesday’s parliamentary update is the first detailed accounting of how those structural pieces tie into the post-outage hardening programme.
Sources: EconomyNext.
