Sri Lanka extended power cuts for a third day on Thursday as it scrambled to restore its national grid to full capacity after a monkey triggered a widespread blackout over the weekend that disrupted supply to the island's 22 million people.

COLOMBO (Reuters) -- Sri Lanka extended power cuts for a third day on Thursday as it scrambled to restore its national grid to full capacity after a monkey triggered a widespread blackout over the weekend that disrupted supply to the island's 22 million people.

Sri Lanka has grappled with a struggling energy grid for years, and monkeys are making it worse. On Sunday at around 11:00 local time (12:30 AM EST), a nationwide blackout forced its 22 million residents to either turn to personal generators,

No more monkeys jumping on the power grid! A countrywide power outage that left many stuck without cool air during a sweltering hot day in Sri Lanka has been blamed on a rogue monkey who climbed into a power station south of the capital Colombo.

A monkey caused a major power outage in Sri Lanka, leading to scheduled 90-minute power cuts due to a breakdown at the Norochcholai coal power plant.