By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Feb 24: Leader of the Opposition, Mukul Sangma on Tuesday demanded accountability from the government regarding financial support extended to the power sector, specifically under the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY).
Moving a cut motion during the Budget discussion in the Assembly, Sangma noted that substantial public funds have been infused into the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) and its distribution arm to achieve the operational and financial turnaround promised under UDAY.
He questioned whether the state had met the scheme’s objectives, particularly after the government took over a portion of the utility’s debt as mandated by the programme.
Sangma pointed out that UDAY was designed to ensure efficiency by reducing aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses and improving tariff realisation. He argued that if a turnaround fails to materialise despite large-scale public funding, the burden falls on consumers. He noted that the losses of power entities are factored into tariff petitions, forcing the public to pay for the utility’s inefficiencies.
The Opposition leader stressed that before approving further financial support, the House must be convinced that the utility is delivering measurable outcomes. He warned that if inefficiencies persist, the state will continue to drain the Consolidated Fund to sustain MeECL.
While transmission and distribution losses have reportedly decreased following network upgrades, Sangma pointed to a significant gap in overall AT&C losses, which indicates failures in billing and revenue collection.
Citing the Electricity Act, 2003, he noted that if a distribution company fails to bill for electricity consumed for more than two consecutive years, it cannot later demand payment. He questioned why villages remained unbilled for extended periods and asked why the state should continue to “bleed” due to such regulatory lapses.
Sangma also raised concerns over the franchisee model. He recalled an earlier version involving local consumers that was successful and generated employment by offering franchisees a 15 per cent share of tariff realisation. However, he claimed the model became unviable and was discontinued after the share was reduced to 10 per cent.
He alleged that the current strategy of appointing outside entities as franchisees has caused frustration among consumers, particularly in the western belt. He urged the government to revisit the model to ensure greater involvement of local consumers in distribution and revenue collection.
Sangma called for an action-oriented response and urged the Power Minister to address these concerns before granting further financial support to the utility.
