Sri Lanka’s electricity consumers have lost access to around 32,350 megawatt-hours of lower-cost electricity from the Norochcholai Lakvijaya Power Plant after the final shipment of coal procured under emergency purchases arrived eight days late, officials at the plant said recently.
The delay meant the Lakvijaya plant had no additional coal reserves available to maintain combustion until the final vessel arrived, according to the officials. The resulting loss of generation represents another cost associated with the difficulties surrounding the country’s coal procurement arrangements, they said.
Plant officials identified the lost electricity among the other losses arising from the Trident Chemphar tender for 2025–2026. The tender has been linked to a series of supply difficulties, with officials pointing specifically to delays in deliveries and the quality of the coal received.
Of the 25 coal shipments ordered from Trident Chemphar, only 19 had arrived in Sri Lanka, according to the officials. They said that all of the shipments that did arrive had reached the country late, adding another layer of disruption to the supply of fuel required for the Norochcholai plant.
The officials also disclosed that the coal contained in all of Trident Chemphar’s shipments was of inferior quality. The combination of delayed deliveries and the quality of the fuel therefore affected the availability and use of coal supplied under the tender, according to their account.
The immediate problem emerged against the backdrop of wider difficulties with the Trident Chemphar tender. Because of what officials described as complications surrounding the company’s tender, the Ceylon Electricity Board’s coal company, Lanka Coal Company, had ordered 300,000 metric tonnes of coal from India’s Taranjot Resources under emergency procurement arrangements earlier this year to make up the shortfall.
Those emergency purchases were intended to address the deficit created by the problems with the Trident Chemphar tender. However, the eight-day delay in the arrival of the final shipment meant that the Norochcholai plant lacked sufficient additional coal stocks to continue operating until the vessel reached Sri Lanka.
For electricity consumers, the immediate consequence identified by plant officials was the loss of an estimated 32,350 megawatt-hours of electricity that could otherwise have been generated at a lower cost. The officials presented that lost generation as an additional loss arising from the 2025–2026 procurement arrangements.
The figures and disclosures place the timing of coal deliveries at the centre of the problem. With only 19 of the 25 ordered Trident Chemphar shipments arriving, and those shipments reportedly arriving late and containing inferior coal, the emergency procurement of additional supplies became necessary to cover the resulting shortfall. The late arrival of the final emergency shipment then created a further loss of potential generation at one of Sri Lanka’s key power stations.
