– Energy Minister Anura Karunathilake told Parliament today that Sri Lanka has incurred a total loss of Rs. 15.765 billion due to the recent import of inferior-quality coal.The Minister said the National System Operator (NSO) had spent Rs. 8.571 billion to purchase electricity from alternative sources to compensate for the loss of megawatt-hours caused by the poor-quality coal.

He further said Electricity Distribution Lanka (Private) Limited (EDL) had incurred an additional Rs. 7.912 billion in expenses, including costs related to maintaining additional coal stocks, essential maintenance and handling fees, as a result of the inferior coal supply.According to Karunathilake, the government has imposed penalties and withheld performance bonds totalling Rs. 16.989 billion in connection with the matter. However, the overall financial loss incurred due to the inferior-quality coal has been estimated at Rs. 15.765 billion.The Minister also said the government had assured that the financial burden arising from the use of inferior-quality coal would not be passed on to electricity consumers.