Sri Lanka Extends Coal Procurement Inquiry to December 16

Sri Lanka has extended the mandate of a presidential commission investigating coal procurement and electricity generation until 16 December 2026, giving the panel two more months to complete its work, according to local reports published on 20–21 October.

The commission's earlier term expired on 16 October. The Daily Mirror and Daily FT separately reported that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake issued the extension through Extraordinary Gazette No. 2510/81. The gazette's full text was not independently retrieved for this report, so the extension's legal instrument is attributed to those publications.

The President's Office confirmed the commission's original appointment on 17 April under Sri Lanka's Special Presidential Commissions of Inquiry legislation. Its mandate is to examine whether irregularities or unlawful acts occurred in coal imports and in electricity generation by Lanka Coal Company or its successors, covering the period from the start of coal-based generation through 16 April 2026.

The panel is chaired by Supreme Court Justice Gihan Kulatunga, with Court of Appeal Justice Adithya Patabendige and High Court Judge Sanjeewa Somaratne serving as members. The commission is tasked with examining tender procedures, coal quality testing, power-generation efficiency, contract compliance, any resulting financial loss and possible remedial action.

The inquiry's extension does not establish that any supplier, official or company committed a criminal offence. The commission has not issued a final finding in the records examined for this report. Separate public claims about financial losses from substandard coal involve differing calculations and should not be treated as adjudicated amounts.

The next substantive checkpoint is the commission's 16 December deadline. TFNOS will look for the original extension gazette, any published evidence or interim proceedings, the commission's eventual report, and responses from the energy authorities and affected suppliers before making further claims.