• Urges enforcement of agreement as is   

The Electricity Consumers’ Association (ECA) has demanded the relevant authorities immediately assess the damage caused by the use of substandard coal and act in line with the existing agreement.

The ECA General Secretary Sanjeewa Dhammika said that comments made by the Chairperson of the Lanka Coal Company at a recent media briefing, including his claim that “coal ash is a blessing”, were neither scientifically nor industrially acceptable. "Any discussion on the use of coal should come only after proper quality checks are carried out. Now, attempts are being made to justify the transaction instead of enforcing the agreement. In the case of the first shipment, the coal stock should have been rejected and returned without discussions on compensation. The agreement already provides clear remedies."

He pointed out the agreement allows termination on two key grounds, both of which had been violated in the controversial transaction. "The coal shipment had a calorific value of only 5,900 kilocalories (kcal), well below the required 6,150 kcal specified in the contract, and the ash content exceeded the maximum permitted level of 16 per cent. Since these conditions were not met, the shipment must be returned immediately. Fines could only be imposed if the required calorific value had been achieved. The relevant institutions should also assess the thermal damage caused to power plant machinery worth billions of Rupees by using low-quality coal."

Drawing an analogy, Dhammika said that most modern vehicles are designed to run on 95-octane fuel and that using lower-grade fuel is known to damage engines, a basic fact understood by the public. "Can individuals who fail to grasp such fundamentals be considered industrial engineers? The Government is currently incurring an estimated loss of around Rs. 75 million per day due to the substandard coal. An investigation should be carried out into all the parties who failed to act according to the agreement, and its findings should be disclosed to the public."

Attempts to contact the Energy Ministry Secretary and the Acting Ceylon Electricity Board Chairperson, Prof. Udayanga Hemapala proved futile.

Cabinet Spokesperson Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said on 25 January, 2026 that tests had confirmed that the coal samples sent to India did not meet the required calorific value.