Energy Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said problems with the 300-megawatt coal-powered plant, the largest single electricity generator in the country, was forcing Sri Lanka's main state-run energy company to buy more expensive electricity from private firms.
"The coal power plant is breaking down frequently. We are asking the Chinese to fix it," Wanniarachchi told reporters in Colombo. "These failures are not good for the image of China."
"We expected to use this plant for about 25 years without any major problem, but within three years it has stopped working," she said, adding the plant had suffered more than 35 breakdowns since being commissioned in mid-2011.
Energy ministry secretary M C Ferdinando said buying power from private diesel power stations was prohibitively more expensive than sourcing from the coal plant located along the island's north-western coast.
"Tariffs could be brought down if we did not have to resort to other (diesel) sources of power to augment the shortages caused by the coal plant (breakdowns)," Ferdinando said.
Sri Lanka's electricity tariffs are among the highest in the world with a kilowatt hour, or a household unit, costing up to 35 US cents.