SHILLONG, May 29: Residents across Meghalaya must brace for a season of persistent darkness as Power Minister Metbah Lyngdoh on Friday admitted that frequent power shutdowns are “unavoidable” while the state struggles to overhaul its aging electricity grid.
Acknowledging growing public frustration over erratic supply, Lyngdoh stated that the interruptions are directly linked to large-scale work under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) and other network augmentation projects. He indicated that the reliability of the grid remains a distant goal as the department manages a backlog of infrastructure upgrades. “There are many different schemes currently being implemented, including RDSS, besides additional household connections that are being added,” Lyngdoh said. “Because of that, people will come across shutdowns in different areas from time to time.”
The Minister defended the outages as an essential safety requirement, explaining that transmission and distribution facilities cannot be upgraded while lines are energised. He framed the current disruptions as a necessary trade-off for long-term improvements to the state’s fragile power system.
Addressing the lack of communication that often leaves consumers in the dark, Lyngdoh claimed the Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL) follows established procedures to inform affected localities in advance. He insisted that official notifications regarding the timing and duration of shutdowns are issued to allow businesses and residents to prepare.
However, with no clear timeline for the completion of these projects, the Minister could only appeal for public cooperation. He maintained that the ongoing “temporary inconvenience” is the only path toward strengthening service delivery in a sector long plagued by debt and infrastructure rot.
