India, Oct. 25 -- In a development that exposes the challenges of integrating growing amounts of renewable energy into conventional electricity networks, the Sri Lankan government has ordered owners of rooftop solar systems to disconnect them from the grid until following a nationwide blackout that the country experienced recently.

Sri Lanka's national grid failed on October 17, at about 11:45 am, leaving the country's 22 million people without electricity. Within hours, the National System Operator (NSO) issued an emergency order asking households with rooftop solar panels to disconnect their systems from the grid until further notice. The measure was intended to help stabilise the transmission network. Electricity supplies were restore...