A coal carrier has arrived at Puttalam for the Lakvijaya Power Plant at Norochcholai, arriving on the day the Energy Ministry had said it would and easing a stock shortage that had forced generation at the plant to be scaled back.

The vessel IVS TRADER docked on Friday, with clearance and quality inspections expected to be completed quickly and unloading due to begin the same afternoon, Ada Derana reported. NewsFirst put the cargo at approximately 60,000 metric tonnes.

Minister of Energy, Ports and Civil Aviation Anura Karunathilaka visited Lakvijaya on Friday morning to inspect stocks and assess the situation. The Daily Mirror reported that he found the plant had enough coal to operate for the next few days, and that he met staff and junior employees to thank them for continuing to work “during the current difficult period.”

Why the shipment was needed

NewsFirst supplied the explanation the earlier reporting lacked. The minister said the vessel arriving Friday is a replacement for a consignment previously rejected on quality grounds during an emergency procurement process, NewsFirst reported.

He added that procurement for the 2026/27 period has now been completed, and that the first shipment under that new arrangement is expected at Norochcholai by 12 September. That reconciles the two dates the ministry gave on Wednesday, when it said one vessel was due on the 4th and another on the 12th: the two cargoes come from different procurement rounds rather than a single sequence.

“There is absolutely no need to impose power cuts due to a shortage of coal. We assure the public that electricity supply will not be disrupted because of insufficient coal stocks,” Karunathilaka said. He said a quantity of coal procured in earlier periods also remains available, and that a plan is in place to keep fuel flowing to the country’s largest coal-fired station once unloading begins.

A wording that is not explained

Both Ada Derana and the Daily Mirror describe the cargo as the first coal shipment for Lakvijaya “for the second quarter of this year” — an unusual formulation in September that neither outlet explains, and which sits oddly beside NewsFirst’s account of a replacement cargo under emergency procurement. The phrase appears in both reports, so it is not a transcription error by one newsroom.

The accounts also differ in emphasis on how tight the position is. The Daily Mirror reports the minister observing stocks sufficient “for the next few days”; NewsFirst quotes him saying the plant has “more than adequate” supplies. Neither outlet gives a tonnage currently in the yard or a days-of-cover figure.

Not reported

No outlet said why the earlier consignment failed quality inspection, what it cost, who supplied it, or whether the rejection is being pursued with the supplier. None gave the tonnage of the 12 September cargo, named the counterparties to the 2026/27 procurement, or said how much generating capacity at Norochcholai remains offline. The Ceylon Electricity Board has not published reservoir levels or the current hydropower share of generation.

Update, September 5: minister calls power-cut reports false

Ada Derana filed its own account of the Friday plant visit on Saturday morning, reporting that Karunathilaka made his remarks while on an inspection tour of Lakvijaya and that there are “no obstacles” to maintaining an uninterrupted supply without breakdowns. It said he dismissed reports circulating that power cuts could be imposed because of a coal shortage, describing such claims as false.

One line does not match NewsFirst. Ada Derana says arrangements “are already underway” to import coal for 2026 and 2027; NewsFirst quoted the minister a day earlier saying procurement for the 2026/27 period “has now been completed.” Underway and completed are different states, and neither outlet flags the difference. No other verified newsroom carried the minister’s Saturday remarks.

Sources