According to Cabinet Spokesman and Plantation Industries Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, a Fundamental Rights petition filed in the Supreme Court has hampered the procurement of coal for the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant (LCPP) in Norochcholai.
Minister Pathirana admitted at the weekly post-cabinet news briefing that if adequate stocks of coal are not imported by October 15th, all three coal power plants that generate 900 MWs and connect to the national grid will have to be shut down.
On the advice of the Attorney General, he stated that the government would do everything possible to expedite the legal process. Power and energy experts, power sector trade unions, and LCPP employees have raised concerns about the possibility of the country experiencing 7-hour power outages if the government fails to import coal by September 15th, as stocks are only sufficient until mid-October. The FR petition was filed to challenge the alleged misappropriations in the LCPP coal procurement procedure.
Responding to a journalist at the news conference, Minister Dr. Pathirana stated that if the legal process of the FR petition could be completed as soon as possible, the government would be able to procure and import coal before October 15.