With the water level at Umiam reservoir witnessing a noticeable dip, concerns over its impact on power generation have come to the fore.
Power Minister Abu Taher Mondal today acknowledged the situation, stating that the decline in water levels is indeed a cause for concern.
“Naturally, when water is not there, it is a matter of concern,” he said. “We hope that the rains come soon and fill up the reservoir. We are working closely on this. Frankly, I’m more tense than you are.”
Meghalaya is heavily dependent on rainfall for its electricity as all of its local energy production is through hydropower. A weak monsoon could leave the state with a massive power deficit during the dry season and the Power Department would either have to resort to load shedding or to buy electricity from elsewhere.
Despite the falling water level, the minister clarified that power generation at the Umiam dam remains unaffected for now. However, he cautioned that the situation is closely linked to the monsoon and that the situation extends to other hydropower projects in the state, like Leshka and Ganol. “As of now, we are okay. But I don’t know how long the monsoon will last. It will all depend on that. If the monsoon is good, we’ll have plenty of water.”
This year the monsoon arrived in Meghalaya a few days early but the past month has been unusually dry. According to the reported data, Meghalaya recorded a 48 percent shortfall in rainfall between June 1 and July 5, receiving only 453.3mm of rain compared to the normal average of 873.1mm for the period.
Pre-monsoon rains were good, however. Mondal informed that the Ganol plant was able to generate 24MW of electricity for a period, which is more than its stated capacity of 22.5MW. “That’s the impact of good water flow,” he said.
On concerns regarding ongoing road construction below the Umiam dam, Mondal assured that necessary precautions are in place. “Release of water will not submerge the bridge. That will be taken care of. They will construct the bridge above the high flood level to ensure safety.”
On the question of power purchase during the lean season, the minister explained that it is a routine process. “When there’s a need, we purchase; when we have surplus, we sell. Earlier, we used to do swapping, but now we go through the Indian Energy Exchange route.”
Regarding pending dues, the minister highlighted that the state has made significant progress. “Over the last two years, we worked hard to clear dues owed to central utilities like NEEPCO, NHPC, Power Grid, OTPC, and others. Now we have no outstanding dues except for current monthly charges.”
However, he admitted that legacy dues with NTPC still remain. “We have about Rs 664 crore pending with NTPC, accumulated over the years. Our target is to fully neutralise this amount by 2027. We are working on that.”
