Politics · Sri Lanka Bureau
Substandard coal quality behind Norochcholai power plant crisis, says ex-LECO chief
The prolonged use of low-grade coal at Sri Lanka's Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant has triggered the current electricity shortages forcing authorities to implement rolling blackouts, according to a former Lanka Electricity Company executive.
LSN Sri Lanka ·
Former Lanka Electricity Company (Private) Limited Chairman Bandula Chandrasekera has attributed the operational crisis at the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant (LVPP) in Norochcholai to the continued reliance on substandard coal supplies. The fuel quality issues have accumulated over time, he said, creating the conditions that precipitated the current power rationing measures.
Chandrasekera's remarks come as the government has been forced to implement scheduled one-hour power cuts to manage electricity demand amid the facility's reduced capacity. The Lakvijaya plant, located in the North Western Province, has long been a cornerstone of Sri Lanka's thermal power generation infrastructure.
The former utility executive's comments underscore ongoing concerns about coal procurement standards and their impact on the nation's power generation capacity. Industry observers have previously raised questions about the quality specifications of imported coal and their effects on plant efficiency and reliability.
The power cuts have intensified scrutiny of energy supply management at a time when Sri Lanka's electricity sector faces mounting pressures from aging infrastructure and fluctuating fuel availability. Authorities have indicated that addressing the root causes of the current supply constraints remains a priority for the government's energy policy.
Photo: The Lakvijaya (Norochcholai) Power Station in Puttalam, seen from the Madurankuliya Wind Farm site, July 2013. Hisham Cassim via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).