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Sri Lanka experienced a nationwide power outage lasting about six hours on Oct. 17 after a failure in its electricity grid.
The blackout left the island nation of 22 million people without grid electricity from around midday until dusk, when power restoration began in stages across the country. High solar power generation amid weak electricity demand may have contributed to the blackout.
Authorities urged rooftop solar owners to disconnect their systems to stabilize the grid, eventually restoring power.
Over a year ago, on Feb. 9, 2025, Sri Lanka already suffered a similar situation, which the state-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) partly attributed to the growing share of solar photovoltaic (PV) power in the electricity mix.
At the time, solar PV systems were supplying more than half of electricity demand, leaving the grid with insufficient inertia to withstand the disturbance. The resulting voltage drop set off cascading disconnections that plunged the country into darkness. Power restoration took over six hours.
Sri Lanka’s rooftop solar capacity climbed to 1.94 gigawatts (GW) by the end of 2025 amid a surge in installations. The country now has just over 3,000 megawatts (MW) of installed solar capacity, exceeding its typical daytime electricity demand of 2,000MW to 2,500MW.
(Also read: Vena Energy’s Pangasinan Solar Project Moves Closer to Delivery With European Investment Deal)
The Rise of Rooftop Solar in the PH
Sri Lanka’s experience offers a cautionary lesson for the Philippines, where rising electricity costs are driving more households and businesses to install rooftop solar systems.
According to the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA) and the Philippine Solar and Storage Energy Alliance (PSSEA), rising electricity prices have cut rooftop solar payback periods to four years for households, three years for commercial users, and 3.1 years for industries.
APVIA pointed out that the Philippines’ installed rooftop solar capacity may have reached about 1.3 GW, combining the 721 MW previously tracked by the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) with an estimated 600 MW added in 2026, based on a separate study using generation data from the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP).
The Philippines ranked as China’s second-largest market for solar panel exports in 2026, surpassing Pakistan and signaling a surge in domestic demand, including for rooftop installations. Chinese shipments to the country exceeded 3,000 MW in March and April alone, while local solar manufacturing also shows signs of gaining momentum, according to Ember.
Could the PH Face Similar Challenges?
The blackout in Sri Lanka offers timely insights for the Philippines amid its growing shift to solar energy.
Grid flexibility and backup capacity
Sri Lanka’s blackout underscores the need to strengthen power systems as solar and other intermittent renewable energy (RE) sources account for a growing share of electricity supply. This will require greater investment in grid controls, energy storage and backup generation to keep supply stable when renewable output fluctuates.
Batteries and fast-start gas- and oil-fired plants, for instance, can help cover sudden shortfalls when cloud cover reduces solar output or wind speeds drop. However, Philstar columnist Bienvenido Oplas warned that securing these resources and other ancillary services to maintain grid stability could increase transmission charges passed on to consumers through their monthly electricity bills.
Regulatory Gaps
Sri Lanka’s experience highlights the challenges of managing rapid rooftop solar adoption, with tax incentives encouraging households to generate electricity and sell excess power to the grid.
The country’s regulator flagged limited real-time monitoring of rooftop systems, which contributes to the so-called duck curve — a sharp midday dip in net electricity demand followed by a steep evening rise. It recommended updated inverter protection settings to help solar systems remain connected during certain grid disturbances, but older equipment, unsupported software updates, and weak enforcement have hindered implementation.
The Philippines faces a similar challenge, with no comprehensive public accounting of rooftop solar installations.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is pushing for a mandatory system to track rooftop solar installations, warning that unrecorded capacity could complicate efforts to balance electricity supply and demand.
“If there are enough solar installations that NGCP does not know about and there is a sudden cloud cover, it’s as if a large plant connected to the grid falls and the NGCP has to manage,” said Cynthia Perez-Alabanza, the grid operator’s assistant vice president and head of public relations.
NGCP has launched a voluntary data-sharing initiative with distribution utilities and electric cooperatives, but Alabanza said an enforceable government policy is needed to support long-term planning. She also pointed to shifting demand patterns, with peak consumption moving from around 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. as solar generation begins to wane.
The issue could become more pronounced if the proposed Sariling Kuryente Act (House Bill 10431) is passed. The measure seeks to ease permitting requirements and reduce fees for households and businesses installing rooftop solar panels and battery energy storage systems (BESS), potentially accelerating adoption and further reducing demand for electricity from the main grid.
Growing Electrification
Sri Lanka’s push for electric vehicles (EVs) has added pressure to its power system, with authorities urging owners to avoid charging their cars at night as electricity demand strains supply. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said o that nighttime charging was adding about 300 MW to demand, forcing the country to run more generators to keep the grid operating.
The situation highlights a challenge for EVs, which are meant to reduce emissions but can still depend on fossil fuels when charged. Much of Sri Lanka’s nighttime electricity comes from coal and diesel, while limited battery storage prevents the country from saving excess daytime solar generation for later use. EV adoption has accelerated since Sri Lanka lifted a five-year vehicle import ban in February 2025.
Sri Lanka’s experience raises a broader question for the Philippines, where EV adoption is accelerating. The Philippines’ EV market is expanding rapidly, with sales reaching 66,685 units from January to August 2026, or about 24.7% of total vehicle sales, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).
The government is supporting the shift through incentives for local manufacturing and the implementation of the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA). Under the Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle Industry, the country aims to achieve a 50% EV fleet share by 2040.
But as EV adoption grows, can intermittent renewable sources such as solar meet the additional electricity demand? Sri Lanka’s experience highlights the challenge of aligning the shift to electric mobility with the availability of reliable, affordable, and cleaner power.
(Also read: DMCI Power Backs Palawan’s Rising Power Demand With ₱3-Billion Plant Expansion)
A Cautious Path to Energy Transition
Sri Lanka’s blackout is not an isolated warning. On April 28, 2025, Spain and Portugal suffered a massive power failure that disrupted transport, communications, and essential services, leaving millions without electricity. The outage was among the most severe blackouts in Europe.
Although the high share of solar power initially drew scrutiny, Spain’s official investigation found that the blackout resulted from multiple interacting failures, particularly inadequate voltage control, generator disconnections and shortcomings in grid operations. The incident underscored how quickly technical problems can cascade into a system-wide collapse when the necessary safeguards are lacking.
For the Philippines, the lesson is to ensure rooftop solar expansion keeps pace with investments in grid monitoring, energy storage, backup capacity, and system controls. Authorities must also improve oversight of rooftop installations and account for the costs of maintaining reliable electricity as generation patterns change.
As a developing country where electricity costs already weigh heavily on households and businesses, the Philippines must be careful not to rush the green transition at the expense of affordability and energy security. RE can help reduce fuel dependence, but its growth must be matched by the infrastructure needed to keep electricity reliable and accessible.
The goal should be a transition that Filipinos can afford and depend on—not one that moves faster than the country’s ability to sustain it.
Sources:
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/sri-lanka-suffers-nationwide-electricity-blackout
https://powerphilippines.com/ph-rooftop-solar-capacity-estimated-at-1-3-gw-apvia/
https://taiyangnews.info/markets/sri-lanka-balckout-highlights-need-for-flexibility
https://www.philstar.com/business/2026/04/16/2521217/stable-grid-and-stable-growth
https://doe.gov.ph/ev-adoption-gains-ground-as-doe-strengthens-safety-charging-ecosystem
https://www.entsoe.eu/publications/blackout/28-april-2025-iberian-blackout
https://apnews.com/article/spain-portugal-power-outage-electicity-533832bb4ceae92eaa68c23dc0b5db18