Norochcholai Power Plant:

Spot tenders to avert coal shortage

By Rukshana Rizwie

The Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy will call for five spot tenders starting next week to avert a possible shortage of coal for the Norochcholai Power Plant, due to the ongoing rift over the controversial coal tender deal, Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy Dr. Suren Batagoda told the Sunday Observer.

“We’ve held only one meeting so far and the company declined to accept our offer. The company had cited that all the necessary purchases had been made and it was not plausible to back out.”

Dr. Batagoda said that the Ministry might refer the matter to Cabinet next week if both parties still fail to reach an amicable solution. “We are not concerned about the quantity of coal, because we have two million tonnes which is sufficient. However, we will call for at least five spot tenders starting next week.”

He added that the Ministry will call five spot tenders for the supply of 330,000 tons of coal. “In the past there have been several instances when we were forced to shut down or go slow simply because we didn’t have enough coal. This time we will make sure it does not happen.”

Dr Batagoda said that when he realized last year that the tender awarding procedure would cause a probable shortage, the Ministry went ahead with spot tenders. He said that if the spot tenders had not been called then, Lanka Coal would have continued to purchase coal from Nobel. To him the spot tender ensured that the country didn’t run into scarcity issue and it was the easiest way of mitigating the crisis. Referring to the three-member committee comprising eminent academics who have been asked to make observations, he said that the committee will in no way contradict the Supreme Court ruling and will merely ascertain if the procedural flaws cited in the ruling have led to a loss or profit during the deal.