By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 30: Once dismissed as a struggling entity burdened by financial woes and operational inefficiencies, the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) is now charting a path to recovery.
Through strategic reforms, financial restructuring, and improved efficiency, the corporation has reduced its Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses, cleared outstanding dues, engaged in power trading, and secured two consecutive energy efficiency awards from the Ministry of Power.
Power Minister AT Mondal acknowledged the persistent criticism faced by MeECL but emphasised the need to recognise its progress. “It has always been criticised, including by me, but sometimes credit must be given where it is due. Our AT&C losses were at 35%, but we have successfully reduced them to 17%. This achievement was possible only due to the hard work of MePDCL. Additionally, we were once classified in the D category as a state, but we have now been promoted to C category, and I am hopeful that by next year, we will reach the B category,” he said.
Highlighting the corporation’s recent achievements, Mondal noted that the state received two consecutive energy efficiency awards from the Ministry of Power. “These awards were presented by the President and Vice President of the country, won after tremendous effort, proving that MeECL is making significant progress,” he stated.
Addressing the issue of load-shedding, Mondal recalled how the state had been plagued by frequent power cuts just a few years ago. “Thanks to our power portfolio management, load-shedding has been minimised. Unless there is a shutdown taken by any of the utilities, we are not implementing scheduled load-shedding, which indicates significant improvement,” he said.
Speaking on the corporation’s financial turnaround, Mondal noted that MeECL has successfully averted threats from power utilities, including the Power Grid Corporation of India, over pending dues. “Earlier, accumulated dues had reached Rs 488 crore. After taking the Atmanirbhar loan, we paid Rs 244 crore. However, the remaining dues further increased to Rs 664 crore. Due to the intervention of our Chief Minister, in discussions with the Union Power Minister and NTPC, we secured a rebate of around Rs 99 crore, bringing the outstanding amount to approximately Rs 565 crore,” he explained.
Elaborating on the repayment strategy, he added, “We negotiated a deal where, instead of the initially proposed 20 instalments, we are now repaying in 36 instalments at Rs 15.7 crore per month. By 2026-2027, we will have cleared the entire debt, which reflects our financial improvement and capacity.”
Mondal also spoke about the financial assistance extended to MeECL to manage its crisis, including power purchases and overall management. “Last year, we received Rs 950 crore in assistance. Our goal is to gradually reduce this dependency and bring it down to zero by 2030,” he said.
Discussing power trading, he remarked, “We have started trading power through the transparent platform of the Indian Energy Exchange, where rates are quoted in advance for bidding. This has resulted in collections exceeding Rs 500 crore.”
However, he emphasised the need for MeECL to achieve financial independence. “MeECL must stand on its own feet. It can only survive if all stakeholders, including consumers, pay their bills regularly. Otherwise, sustaining operations will be very difficult,” he added.
Regarding consumer concerns over high electricity bills, he assured that the issue would be addressed once the recently approved smart meters are rolled out.
Additionally, the minister highlighted ongoing efforts to enhance the state’s power distribution network, stating that the government is working to establish more substations based on demand.