PUSCL confirms possible power cuts as a result of inferior quality coal

By Yohan Perera   

The report of the Public Utilities Commission has confirmed that there is a risk of power cuts as a result of inferior coal, it was reported yesterday.   

“Risk of compromising continuous power supply was analyzed based on the peak demand forecasted in– February 2026” submitted by CEB and assuming the Hydro Power plants can contribute up to 1300MW to cater the night peak and LVPS can contribute only up to 690MW due to capacity shortfall (Assuming a 40MW generation capacity reduction from each unit).,” the PUCSL report said.   

The report revealed the following   

Planned maintenance as per the schedule provided by CEB were considered for the analysis a. Unit 1 of LVPS is scheduled to undergo maintenance in June for a period of 25 days Unit 2 of LVPS is scheduled to undergo maintenance in July for a period of 25 days. Westcoast Power Plant (270MW) is scheduled to undergo  maintenance in April for a period of 10 days KCCP 2 Power Plant (150MW) is scheduled to undergo maintenance in May, June and July Accordingly, Under  normal conditions, there is a potential capacity shortage risk in April, June and July, if the demand reaches 3030MW, 3070MW and 3000MW respectively (The recorded maximum night peak demand in 2026 is 2949MW – 25th February 2026) Further, if one Coal unit or one major power plant becomes unavailable out of the available units/plants there is a high risk of generation capacity shortage for catering the night peak demand.

especially in April, June and July Further, if the generation capacity of Lak vijaya Power Stations needs to be further reduced to maintain a stable and safe operation level, the risk of generation capacity shortage is further increased. 5. As observed, the high ash content and the exceedance of steam temperature limits could result in excessive erosive wear and overheating of the equipment in the boiler system