Electricity Meter Manipulation Situation in Assam
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: State Power Minister Bimal Borah has appealed to a section of the 13,000 valued power consumers of the State to do away with malpractices like meter manipulation, failing which the department will act against them under the law.
Talking to The Sentinel on Sunday, Borah said, "Assam has a total of 63 lakh power consumers, and 13,000 of them are valued consumers who contribute 58 per cent to the total power revenue collected. Ninety-eight per cent of the power consumers in the State are general ones.
"It's good that the valued power consumers set up industries, float companies and buy power. However, a section of them doesn't pay power bills up to the amount that they ought to. Some of them adopt malpractices like meter manipulation. We request them to give up such malpractices. We're waiting and watching them. If they don't mend their ways, we'll have to act against them following the law."
On the current power scenario in the State, Borah said, "The peak hour power consumption in the State is 1800-1900 MW. The power sector collects Rs 460 crore monthly as revenue against the monthly expenditure of Rs 520 crore. There is an earning-expenditure gap every month. We're examining ways and means to bridge this gap.
"A replacement power generation unit is under trial at Namrup. It will be operational within two to three months. It will generate around 100 MW of power daily. With the hydroelectric power resources already explored in the State, we're slowly turning to pollution-free solar energy. Solar power plants need wider lands. We're contemplating smaller units of 20 MW, 30 MW etc for generating solar power."
Bimal Borah is the second-time BJP MLA from Tingkhong LAC in Dibrugarh district and first-time Minister. He also holds Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Sports and Youth Welfare.