PGCIL to complete RGGVY work in state by March

People of rural Orissa now have a reason to smile as Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), a navratna PSU, is likely to complete rural electrification of 12 districts under the Centrally sponsored Rajeev Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY).

“We have committed to complete (electrification) by March 2012. We will ensure that most of the villages are electrified and below poverty line household connections are given by March, but there could be minor spillover because of pending forest clearance in some areas,” said Rabindra Nath Nayak, Chairman cum Managing Director, PGCIL. He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the Electricity Odisha-2012, a four day exhibition-cum-seminar on power sector, organized by Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI), an apex body of industry representatives in the state. Nayak said, Angul and Jharsuguda extra high voltage substations of 800 Kilo Volt( KV) each will be operational by early 2013.

The districts where PGCIL had taken up RGGVY work include Balasore, Jajpur, Sonepur, Khurda, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj, Sundergarh, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri.

Speaking on the occasion, state minister for energy Atanu Sabyasachi said, 12 new hydro projects have been identified with an installed capacity of 1,470 MW and the detail project reports are under different stages of preparation.

He said, 32 MoUs have been signed with different promoters to set up small hydel projects identified at different locations and the state is likely to add 1,200 MW from seven projects of independent Power Producers (IPPs) by the end of 2013. Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, MP, urged the industry body to take initiatives to manufacture power equipments in the state through cluster development approach.