Sri Lankan coal company requests over $12 million to avert power cuts fear

Colombo: Amid fear of power outage, the Lanka Coal Company has requested over $12 million to buy coal for power plants. Chairman of the Lanka Coal Company Shehan Sumanasekara told media on Saturday that he has asked the money from Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera, Xinhua news agency reported. The company, incorporated to procure and supply coal for coal-fired thermal plants of Sri Lanka, needed approximately 2 million MT of coal annually to meet the energy needs of the country. Sri Lanka has been experiencing daily power cuts since early 2022 due to foreign reserve shortages. About 45 per cent of the country’s electricity is generated by the thermal power, which relies on the import of fuel. Sri Lanka has been facing an unprecedented acute economic and energy crisis caused due to shortage of foreign exchange. A sudden rise in prices of key commodities and fuel shortage forced tens of thousands of people to queue for hours outside petrol filling stations. People are also facing long hours of power cuts daily. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.