Colombo, Oct. 20 (Daily Mirror) - The Government has dismissed opposition allegations that substandard coal was responsible for the technical failure at the Norochcholai Lakvijaya Power Plant, following the nationwide blackout on October 17, Cabinet Spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa said.
Speaking to journalists, Jayatissa said Generator Unit 1 remained out of service due to the technical failure but rejected claims linking the incident to the quality of coal used at the power plant.
He said the unit had been shut down for maintenance for 62 days, from July 30 to September 30, and that coal from a new shipment had been used for power generation since September 4.
“There is no link between the coal quality and this incident, as the coal being used since September 4 is from new shipments,” he said.
Asked about the financial losses caused by the blackout, Jayatissa said the opposition was calculating the losses and was expected to release its figures next week.