Politics

Sri Lanka is losing about two gigawatt-hours of electricity each day because of a disputed coal tender, according to former Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka. He made this statement during a press conference today (26) regarding the alleged coal procurement scandal. Ranawaka noted that the daily loss is almost twice the penalty that the authorities plan to recover from the supplier. In Parliament, D.V. Chanaka, a member of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party, mentioned that bringing in low-quality coal for the Lakvijaya Power Plant in Norochcholai has led to a loss of nearly Rs. 10 billion. This claim caused a major uproar throughout the country. The Ministry of Power and Energy responded by stating that a conclusive evaluation of the coal's quality is not possible yet, as the port's quality inspection report is still pending. The Ministry added that if any issues with the coal quality are found, penalties could be applied to the supplying company, as previously noted by Minister of Power and Energy Kumara Jayakody. Additionally, it was revealed yesterday by the government that the disputed coal shipment does have quality problems. This information was shared by Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.