COPE Chairman claims the Norochcholai power plant machinery is not damaged and says the real issue lies in flawed coal quality testing methods and possible irregularities in coal imports.
COPE Committee Chairman and MP Nishantha Samaraweera says the Norochcholai Lakvijaya Power Plant has not suffered any machinery damage due to the use of imported coal and that the real problem lies in the method used to measure the quality of coal supplied to the plant.
Making this statement, he shared the following explanation through his social media account.
Reports claiming that the machines at the Norochcholai power plant have been damaged are incorrect. The governing authority responsible for the coal power plant has confirmed that such claims are false.
A group consisting of several Members of Parliament, including myself, along with officials, recently participated in an observation tour of the Norochcholai Lakvijaya Power Plant located in Narakkalliya on the Kalpitiya Peninsula under the Committee on Public Enterprises. The purpose of the visit was to investigate the coal import process related to the stocks that have recently affected national electricity generation and to verify reports suggesting that the power plant machinery had been damaged due to the use of those coal supplies.
During the inspection visit, engineers from the Lakvijaya Power Plant provided technical guidance and explanations. They clearly confirmed that the machinery and operational systems of the plant have not been damaged as a result of the imported coal currently being used.
However, our observations revealed that there are weaknesses in the existing methodology used to assess the quality and condition of imported coal. It was particularly noted that the current practice of sending randomly collected coal samples to laboratories through courier services raises concerns regarding accuracy and reliability.
State owned enterprises must function in a manner that does not disrupt the daily lives of citizens, especially when it comes to electricity generation and national energy stability. Therefore new and improved methodologies should be introduced by correcting the loopholes that exist within the present coal quality testing and verification procedures.
At the same time, I must emphasize that the quality of certain imported coal stocks does not fall within the standard range suitable for power generation at the Lakvijaya Power Plant. Whether such imports occurred due to expectations of illicit profits or for other reasons will be examined in detail by the COPE Committee.
Furthermore, investigations will not be limited to the current situation alone. The Committee on Public Enterprises intends to review the entire history of coal imports to Sri Lanka from the time such imports began up to the present. All relevant information regarding procurement, testing methods, and supply contracts will be presented before the COPE Committee during future inquiries.
