SHILLONG:
The state could heave a sigh of relief with Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) deciding to cut back on load-shedding in a phased manner as the government explores the idea of generating electricity from waste.
Revealing the MeECL’s decision here on July 6, Power minister Abu Taher Mondal said the corporation was also reducing purchase because at one point of time, power was being purchased at quite a high rate. “So we stop purchasing at a high rate. That is why we will try to see as early as possible to reduce the load-shedding. Load-shedding maybe there but for a reduced period,” he added.
When asked, Mondal said, “As of now, there is nothing to mitigate the problem but on a future basis, we are working on various sectors to see that one-time generation can be increased, losses can be minimised and in this way, we are trying to see that our power problem will be solved.”
On Wednesday, the Meghalaya High Court had directed the state to file a comprehensive report indicating the measures to reduce the shortfall of power in the state. It had also asked the state to indicate the measures taken to obtain additional power from the national grid and other sources that are available to reduce the shortfall.
Mondal said that the government respects the directions given by the high court.
“See last few days or months, we were purchasing power at a very high rate to the tune of Rs 3 crore per day. If it is available, we can purchase, there is no problem and rate is also a factor which we need to see. First and foremost thing is that it should be available in the market. We purchased from private entities also but the rate was quite high,” he said.
POWER FROM WASTE
Mondal also said that the government was exploring the idea of generating electricity from waste.
He told reporters that the Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma, was discussing with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) on the matter.
“The chief minister is already coordinating with the NTPC because it has some projects on this line. Therefore, we will try to find out,” he said.
The power minister also informed that talks are on to explore the possibility of utilising waste for power generation.
“We will be having a meeting with the urban affairs department also,” he said while adding “Today we will also be discussing something on that line and that is why I told you that maybe on that basis we can also do something.”
Earlier, the chief minister had informed that the state requires about 1,700 million units of power every year out of which its own production is about 1000 to 1100 million units of power every year and hence, there is a shortfall of about 600 to 700 million units.