It is revealed that the withdrawal of international companies registered to supply coal to the Norochcholai Lakvijaya Power Plant would cause a severe power crisis soon.
The Sapugaskanda oil refinery has been closed due to a lack of dollars to supply crude oil. According to a cabinet paper, Norochcholai power plant has a shortage of 650,000 metric tons of coal. This information has been included in a cabinet paper submitted by Power and Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila on December 17.
The cabinet paper further states that suppliers registered to supply coal to the country have not submitted tenders on two previous occasions. Meanwhile, only the Swiss company SUEK AG has offered coal at higher prices. The company has offered a price of $ 270.89 per metric ton of coal, which is $ 215.55 in the international market.
The company has stated though it does not approve of those prices, it requests, due to the current crisis, to approve a sum of US $ 130 million to obtain 480,000 metric tons of coal from the Swiss SUEK AG at the high prices.
The paper clearly states that there is a shortage of 650,000 metric tons of coal, and the offer of 480,000 metric tons for emergency purchases confirms that a critical issue has arisen regarding power generation.
