Meghalaya to cut down on load shedding; Dues to NTPC, NEEPCO to be cleared

Staff Correspondent

Shillong: The State Government on Monday decided to restrict load-shedding in the State to two hours. After drawing flak from many quarters for the long hours of power cut during the day, Chief Minister Conrad K sangma held a review meeting at the State Secretariat with the officials of the Power department and chalked out plans to ensure that there is adequate electricity supply to the residents of the State.

Announcing this at a press conference, Sangma said the curtailment of the hours will start by the intervening night of January 20 and 21. The curtailment was arrived at after the State agreed to clear the pending dues of Rs 113 crore to the NTPC and the daily payment of Rs 65 lakh to NEEPCO. Both these agencies, which are major suppliers of power to the State, had stopped providing power due to the pending dues.

The Chief Minister also alluded to a number of factors that has made the State to face the power crisis in the dry months, even as he emphasized on the importance of looking at the remedies that needed government attention and public co-operation. This includes efficiency in the delivery system, customers economical usage and payment of bills and of course on the need to enhance both thermal and hydel power production in the near future.

The State has around 1,600 mega watts of power potential that has gone untapped in spite of the numerous talks of successive governments to utilize the resources for the overall economic development of the State.

While the State is reeling under power shortage due to non payment of dues, the Chief Minister also informed that an amount of around Rs 180 crore have not been cleared by industrial and commercial consumers besides the domestic ones. He also spoke about the use of net meters and the use of renewable energy starting from his bungalow shortly before introducing the same in all government offices “This will save our energy because the unused energy will return to the grid”, Sangma stated.

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