The Congress will raise the health of the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Ltd (MeECL) in the next Assembly session after the company introduced surprise load shedding of seven to nine hours per day from yesterday.
It is really difficult to understand the load shedding in the peak hours which is a complete inconvenience to the public and very hard to adjust to,” the East Shillong MLA told media persons here today.
It was just before the introduction of phased power cuts that the government announced that it has secured central government loans to pay off Meghalaya’s pending electricity dues.
“We were just informed that the government is taking care and has taken loans of almost Rs 2,000 crore and given a feeling that everything was much better but, suddenly, out of the blue, this has happened,” Lyngdoh stated.
She said such an abrupt decision has taken the public by surprise and the Congress will question the government on all these issues in the Assembly when the next session begins on March 5.
She admitted that load shedding was necessary even during Congress rule but said that the party when in charge had been able to anticipate things better and plan ahead, scheduling power cuts locality-wise and in a way that will reduce the inconvenience to the public.
Meanwhile, UDP general secretary Jemino Mawthoh today said that the sudden announcement of load shedding in the State at a time when online communication is emphasised in all establishments, especially in educational institutions, is unworkable.
“The public at large are suffering and the loss in working hours is tremendous,” Mawthoh said.
He said that the UDP has urged the government to ensure uninterrupted power supply in the State and take appropriate measures to address the problems of the power sector.
“This has to be taken as top priority considering the potential that Meghalaya has in the power sector,” Mawthoh said.
It may be noted that the ailing Meghalaya Energy Corporation Ltd (MeECL) has resorted to a seven-hour daily load-shedding across the State from today. The outages are being carried out in three shifts on a rotational basis.
The MeECL owes Rs 74.65 crore to Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) as transmission charges, and it was not in a position to pay the dues due to the extreme financial condition of the company. As a result the MeECL was forced to regulate about 70 MW of energy.
Earlier, the PGCIL wanted a firm commitment on payment of 50 per cent of dues in one week and a definite timeline for the remaining 50 per cent.
Many people in the State have slammed the MeECL for resorting to load shedding in the State for no faults of theirs. They also hit out at the MDA government for its failure to address the power crisis and the other burning issues of the State.
They also said that power consumers pay their electricity bills in time and it is the duty of MeECL to pay the dues to PGCIL from the bills paid by the consumers.
