Failed tests and confidential documents: Heat over South African coal View(s):By Namini WijedasaInternal documents from the Lakvijaya coal power plant show that samples from three consecutive shipments of South African coal, bought through India’s Trident Chemphar Ltd, failed quality tests. The official data proves that each coal shipment registered Gross Calorific Values (GCV)—which represents the heat released upon combustion—well below levels required to generate optimum electricity from the plant’s three units. This directly clashes with the internal report of the Lakvijaya coal power plant. There are other indications in the documents submitted to the SOC that the coal shipments from South Africa were problematic. “Never mind the load port report, this report, that report,” he remarked.

Source: Sunday Times February 15, 2026 02:58 UTC