By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The much-awaited second unit of the Myntdu Leshka Hydro project was finally commissioned on Tuesday even as the first unit of the project is yet to become functional.
Talking to The Shillong Times on the progress of the project on Wednesday, Chief Project Manager Elias Lyngdoh said that that second unit crossed one hundred million units of energy on Tuesday and is generating power now.
With the commissioning of this unit the State is set to get additional power of 42 mw.
Talking about the status of the first unit, the official said that the first year of any project is considered as ‘defect liability period’ aimed at tracking out faults and other problems that might occur in the project.
“When hundreds of small machines function together it is bound to create some problems and we are trying to detect such errors so that they do not recur,” he said.
It may be mentioned that stage I of the Myntdu Leshka Hydro Electric Project (MLHEP) was commissioned in March this year and was subsequently hit by a technical snag.
The Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL), which is executing the project, is now hoping to rectify the faults in the first unit by the end of November.
The project has already been criticized owing to repeated delays in its commissioning which led to a huge cost escalation from the initial Rs 363.08 crore to Rs 1173.13 crore.
According to Lyngdoh, the Myntdu dam is among the most vulnerable structures in the State and natural calamities like floods pose a serious threat to it.
It may be mentioned that earlier flash floods created havoc in the project leading to the death of several workers in the plant besides resulting in delays.
Meanwhile, the Chief Project Manager informed that alternative arrangements have been put in place to ensure continuous supply of power in the site even in times of emergency.
The official also informed that the third unit of the project would be commissioned in December.
The entire project is expected to generate 126 mw of power for the State.