Cabinet Spokesman Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa has rejected claims that the use of substandard coal at the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant led to the need for power cuts.

Speaking at the weekly Cabinet media briefing held today (20) at the Department of Government Information, Minister Jayatissa said the plant’s Generator No. 1 had been shut down for maintenance for 61 days, from July 30 until September 4, and that newly imported coal had been used at the plant from September 4 onwards.

Accordingly, he dismissed allegations linking the generator’s shutdown to the quality of coal used at the power plant.

“The first generator at the Norochcholai power plant was shut down for 61 days for maintenance. From September 4, newly imported coal has been used. Therefore, these allegations are not relevant to this incident,” the Minister said.

He noted that generator outages at the Norochcholai plant had occurred from time to time, but said the latest incident should not be attributed to coal quality without considering the maintenance period.

Minister Jayatissa also said an internal investigation was underway to determine the circumstances surrounding the breakdown of Generator No. 1.

Minister Nalinda Jayatissa expressed hope that the unit would return to normal operation after tomorrow, adding that the findings of the ongoing inquiry would help clarify the cause of the breakdown.