IMPHAL: Sixty thousand household electricity meters will be installed in 13 more towns, including Imphal to implement the pre-payment power distribution system under the Restructure-Accelerated Power Development Reform Programme.
Power Chief Engineer N Sharat while talking to mediapersons at the Electricity department office here, assured that there will be no more shortage of power in the state at the end of 2014 as a lot of plans are afoot to improve the power system of the state with assistance from World Bank and other sources.
Manipur Government has already introduced the pre-payment power distribution system in some parts of the Imphal city as a pilot project and now the Power Department is all set to implement the system and install a total of 60 household power meters in 13 different more towns, including Imphal by March 2014, he informed.
The towns in Imphal, Thoubal, Lilong of Imphal West, Ningthoukhong, Samurou, Kakching, Moirang, Luxmi Thongkhong, Lilong and Mayang Imphal will be introduced the system under RAPDRP. Demand for power, particularly in the parts of Imphal city where the pre-paid system has been introduced has gone down to 40 percent after illegal power connections were disconnected through a mass drive, the Chief Engineer further said. He said the Electricity Department has also procured 1 lakh household power meters of latest technology to fix in rural areas where the pre-paid system is yet to introduce.
This new meters will address the problem of power leakage and complaint of wrong billing.
“We’ve prepared to improve the power supply capacity of the state and for this, a Detail Project Report for a total amount of Rs 300 crore has been fixed by the Power Grid on a priority basis out of the Rs 727 crore already approved by World Bank,” he informed.
Under this project 132 KV power sub-station each will be set up in Tipaimukh, Tamenglong, Saitu Gamphajol (Sapermeina) and Thoubal, he further said, adding strengthening for earlier 132 KV and 33 KV power sub-stations will also be done under the project.
He said the 50 MW capacity power line project to be transmitted from Silchar to Imphal has been added with another 50 MW by the Power Grid.
Currently, Manipur has 50 MW capacity and that after adding the 100 MW, it would make a total of 150 MW capacity.
The state Government is also planning to buy another 363 MW from Tripura’s Palatana, he informed, adding these plans and project will take another one and an half years. (NNN)