MeECL struggles to recover dues worth Rs 300 cr

SHILLONG, June 13: The cash-strapped Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) is facing a massive challenge of recovering more than Rs 300 crore in dues from different categories of consumers.
Revealing this here on Tuesday, MeECL chairperson Sanjay Goyal said that the corporation owes money from domestic, commercial, and industrial consumers apart from those who are untraceable and some whose cases are pending before the NCLT.
He said the MeECL has already started a mass disconnection drive against the defaulters, particularly those who are in a position to pay. Letters have recently been issued to all the mobile service providers who have not paid their dues for running mobile towers in different parts of the state, he added.
Asserting that MeECL would snap power to such mobile tower operators if they do not clear their dues, Goyal said the government is trying to find out the other consumers who are avoiding payment.
“The government departments are clearing their bills quarterly or annually,” he said.
The MeECL has taken the legal route against many defaulting consumers, officials said.
Complaints over high power bills
Opposition Chief Whip, Saleng A Sangma said there are numerous complaints about high electricity bills despite eight to ten hours of load shedding every day. He asked the government to look into the matter seriously.
“It seems people all over the state are getting the kind of bills they used to get earlier when the supply of power was normal. I think this needs to be checked,” Saleng stressed.
He asked the government not to put the burden on the consumers just because it is buying power.
Talking about power crisis, he said, “We can see that the water level of Umiam is still low. Then, siltation is quite high. I don’t know if we can get more power even after an increase in water level.”