What happened

State utility STELCO reported a total power blackout across Malé City and Hulhumalé beginning at around 12:30pm local time on 1 June 2025, with electricity also disrupted at Hulhulé, the island housing Velana International Airport. STELCO said only that it was working to identify the issue and restore power as soon as possible, without immediately elaborating on the cause; unconfirmed reports suggested generators in Malé City had become overloaded following a problem at the Hulhumalé powerhouse. The utility prioritized restoring power to IGMH and Dharumavantha hospitals while working to restore supply elsewhere, and it was unclear from contemporaneous reporting when full restoration to general areas would be completed. This is documented as an accidental grid/equipment failure, not an attack.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.