• Says actual loss is lower and NSO figures provide correct picture

Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka disputed figures presented by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) and the Opposition on losses allegedly caused by the use of substandard coal at the Lakvijaya Power Plant, saying the actual loss can only be determined by the National System Operator (NSO).

Speaking to The Daily Morning, Karunathilaka said the NSO was responsible for determining the reduction in electricity generation caused by the problematic coal and identifying the source of the replacement power, whether diesel, naphtha or hydropower.

“They are the ones who know where the reduced megawatts caused by the use of the problematic coal were obtained from. They know whether it was diesel, naphtha or hydropower,” he said.

The Minister said the NSO had calculated the loss caused by the coal issue up to July and maintained that this was the correct figure, as the NSO was the only institution capable of determining how the electricity shortfall had been covered.

“A loss has occurred due to the use of substandard coal. But the figure is not the figure mentioned by the Opposition or by the PUCSL. They have extrapolated data given by the NSO and made calculations up to September. That is not scientific,” he said.

Karunathilaka said the Government had also taken steps to recover the losses from the relevant coal supplier, including encashing the company’s performance guarantee.

“We have already encashed the performance guarantee of the relevant company. It is about 14.5 million US Dollars. Therefore, we have already recovered more than Rs 7 billion from the company. Steps are also being taken to recover the penalties applicable to each shipment,” he said.

The Minister’s comments came after Opposition MP S M Marikkar alleged in Parliament that the import of substandard coal had caused losses of more than Rs 10 billion.

Marikkar cited third-party testing conducted by Bureau Veritas International Trade Australia Ltd., which he said found that none of the 19 coal consignments tested had met the required calorific value of 5,900 kcal/kg.

He also cited PUCSL figures claiming that reduced electricity generation had resulted in additional expenditure of Rs 8.536 billion on diesel and furnace oil between January and June.

Meanwhile, the PUCSL had raised concerns over the impact of the coal supplied to the Lakvijaya Power Plant in a report issued in March 2026.

In the observations section of the report on coal supplied to the plant, the PUCSL stated that the recently imported coal had resulted in lower generation capacity, higher coal consumption, increased emissions and a series of operational concerns.

The report, seen by The Daily Morning, noted that the plant had not operated at full capacity when using the nine shipments received from the current supplier.

Under the previous supplier, each unit had recorded an average gross generation capacity of 300 MW.