SHILLONG, May 13: The state government has started working on an adequacy plan to ensure that Meghalaya is in a comfortable position in the power sector by 2035.
Power Minister AT Mondal on Tuesday told media persons about the state’s steady growth in the power sector. He said the government is in touch with the Ministry of Power in connection with the adequacy plan.
“We are also flagging issues in terms of power scenario, manpower and system upgradation,” the minister said, adding that through the adequacy plan, Meghalaya wants to be in a comfortable position by 2035.
He said the state is in a comfortable position as far as power supply is concerned after the recent spate of rainfall which resulted in surplus power.
“We are not going for any load-shedding,” Mondal said. Teams of Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) are in place to take action if any natural calamity damages the corporation’s assets, he said.
Last year, Cyclone Remal had caused huge devastation to MeECL’s infrastructure throughout the state.
Meanwhile, despite apprehensions, the Meghalaya government is set to introduce smart meters in the state as the Centre has made it mandatory for all states to implement it.
“We have awarded the tender and we will take consumers into confidence for smooth implementation,” Mondal said, admitting that there will always be apprehensions with any new technology.
He said Meghalaya is lagging behind in the implementation of smart meters. “We are also late in finalising tenders since companies were blacklisted,” he said.
The central government has decided to come up with a portal which will have the names of all blacklisted companies, so the states can verify the credentials of the companies.
