Powering through Droughts and Crises: Redesigning Sri Lanka’s Energy Resilience

Sri Lanka has lived with energy insecurities for decades. Today, the crisis is a structural problem that is no longer limited to mere episodes. The country’s electricity system sits at the intersection of three converging vulnerabilities. Firstly, the system relies on a bimodal rainfall pattern that makes hydropower inherently boom-and-bust. Secondly, Sri Lanka has a near-total dependence on imported fossil fuels and limited use of other renewables, mainly rooftop solar, to fill the gaps. Thirdly, the country deals with an ageing grid infrastructure that is ill-equipped for the distributed energy future that could solve the problem.