The Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) will reduce the duration of load shedding gradually in the State.
This was informed by Power Minister Abu Taher Mondal to media persons here today.
“This season, we have accumulated a surplus of power with the commitment that once we have excess supply, we will return it to the consumers. We are currently working towards that goal,” Mondal said.
“Furthermore, we are also cutting down on power purchases as we were previously procuring electricity at high rates. By minimising high-rate purchases, we aim to reduce load shedding as soon as possible. While load shedding may still occur, it will be for shorter durations,” he added.
Stating that at present MeECL has no immediate solutions to address the problem of power shortage, Mondal said, “However, we are focusing on various sectors to increase power generation and minimise losses. Our aim is to resolve the power problem in the long run.”
Earlier this week, the Meghalaya High Court has sought a comprehensive report from the State government on measures to address the power shortfall in the State and available sources to mitigate the shortfall.
According to Mondal, the State government is committed to follow the High Court’s directions.
“In recent days and months, we were procuring power at a very high cost, amounting to Rs 3 crore per day. If the power is available for purchase, we have no issue, but the cost factor also plays a crucial role. Availability in the market is the foremost consideration. We have procured power from private entities as well, but the rates were considerably high” he said.
Earlier, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma had informed that Meghalaya requires about 1700 million units of power every year out of which its own production is about 1000 to 1100 million units every year and hence, there is a shortfall of about 600 to 700 million units.
“That shortfall is normally met by the share we get from central power agencies and the rest we buy from the market. Hence, that is the kind of situation we faced. So approximately about 30 per cent deficiency in terms of the requirement of the thing is there but that is one part,” he said at the sidelines of a function.
