Sri Lanka’s main coal power station is producing far less electricity than expected due to poor quality coal imports, forcing the country to rely on costly fuel power plants while raising serious financial and environmental concerns.
Sri Lanka’s energy sector is facing a troubling setback as electricity generation at the Norochcholai Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant has dropped significantly, raising concerns about energy security, rising electricity costs, and operational inefficiency within the national power system.
Energy analyst Vidhura Ralapanawa warns that the country is losing valuable generating capacity because low quality coal currently being supplied to the Norochcholai plant is affecting performance. According to him, the government is also facing a substantial financial burden due to this inefficiency in coal power generation.
Recent data from March 5 shows that only 630 megawatts of electricity were connected to the national grid from the Norochcholai power plant. This is 180 megawatts below the plant’s expected output, creating a significant shortfall in base load electricity generation.
The problem is largely attributed to the use of lower grade coal imported from South Africa instead of the higher quality coal previously sourced from Russia.
Units 1 and 2 of the Lakvijaya Power Plant are currently operating at 230 and 233 megawatts instead of their normal capacity of 300 megawatts each. This means a combined loss of around 77 megawatts from these two generating units.
Unit 3 is performing even worse, generating only 159 megawatts due to a blockage in the coal mill system.
