Officials of the Norochcholai Lakvijaya Power Plant have warned that the use of substandard coal could cause damage to the plant’s machinery.
The warning was issued while officials were appearing before the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
A heated debate has recently emerged in the country regarding the coal stocks imported for the Norochcholai Lakvijaya Power Plant, with allegations that the shipments did not meet the required specifications.
Following these concerns, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka launched an investigation into nine controversial coal shipments on the instructions of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development of Parliament.
The investigation report prepared by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka was recently submitted to the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Infrastructure and Strategic Development of Parliament.
According to the report, the calorific value of the coal in question was lower than the value recorded at the port of shipment, at the Lakvijaya Power Plant, and during the power generation efficiency test.
However, the report also states that the calorific value of the coal supplied by the previous supplier was higher than the value recorded at the port of shipment.
The report further reveals that coal supplied by the current supplier was used for electricity generation for a six-day period from January 3 to January 8, 2026, during which the daily fly ash emissions ranged between 306 and 616 metric tons.
In contrast, during the five-day period from January 11 to January 15, 2026, when electricity was generated using coal from the previous supplier, the daily fly ash discharge was significantly lower, ranging between 221 and 316 metric tons.
Accordingly, the report indicates that the amount of fly ash discharged when using the current supplier’s coal represents a 102 percent increase compared to the coal supplied by the previous supplier.
Meanwhile, the investigation report also reveals that the total financial loss caused by the nine substandard coal shipments amounts to Rs. 8,497 million.
