Meghalaya for power exchange to meet shortfall

Power-starved Meghalaya has decided to go in for a power exchange arrangement with the 726 MW gas-based plant at Palatana to overcome the shortfall of power demand in the state, a minister said Tuesday.

"We have decided that we will be going for power exchange from Palatana within the next two weeks in order to meet the demand," Meghalaya Power minister Clement Marak told IANS.

"We plan to embark on the power exchange for a period of two months. However, the time period can be extended depending on the demand of power supply in the state," he said.

The demand for power is above 600 MW while the installed capacity in Meghalaya is only 310 MW. Presently, Meghalaya is getting around 38 MW from state-owned ONGC Tripura Power Company Limited at Palatana in Tripura.

Meghalaya, which was once a power-surplus state, has now become power-deficit.

The state generates only over 46 MW from Umiam Hydro Electric Project and Myntdu-Leshka Hydro Electric Project.

The Umiam Hydro Electric Project, which has an installed capacity of 185 MW, is currently generating a mere 40 MW, while the 126 MW Myntdu-Leshka Hydro Electric Project is generating merely 6 MW, the power minister said.

The minister said the shortfall in power supply in the state was also due to power regulation by the NHPC Limited, shutdown of the Kopili Hydro Electric Project by state-owned North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (Neepco), and also because of the low water level of the two reservoir of Umiam Hydro Electric Project and Myntdu-Leshka Hydro Electric Project.

Moreover, Meghalaya is already in a debt-trap with the state-owned Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) having pending dues of around Rs.449 crore with Neepco, NTPC Limited and NHPC Limited.

"We (Meghalaya government) have adopted a financial restructuring plan so that MeECL can avail of 25 percent financial assistance from the Centre as well as 75 percent from financial institutions in the form of loans," the minister said.

However, the power situation may not improve in the near future as many of the hydel power projects under construction are running behind schedule.

Meghalaya has decided to develop a chain of small hydro-projects to meet the requirements of the mountainous state.