Introduced as a roadmap to revive Meghalaya’s power sector, attract private investment and restore the state’s energy security, the policy has so far seen only limited progress, with its flagship institutional reforms yet to materialise
SHILLONG, July 16: Nearly two years after the Meghalaya government unveiled its ambitious Power Policy 2024 to transform the state’s energy sector, several of its key promises remain unfulfilled even as residents continue to endure recurring power shortages and, in some instances, night-long outages.
Introduced as a roadmap to revive Meghalaya’s power sector, attract private investment and restore the state’s energy security, the policy has so far seen only limited progress, with its flagship institutional reforms yet to materialise.
The Power Policy itself acknowledges that Meghalaya, once a power-surplus state, has gradually become a power-deficit state.
It notes that while the state possesses an estimated hydropower potential of more than 3,000 MW, only a small portion has been harnessed over the years.
As electricity demand has steadily increased, Meghalaya has increasingly depended on purchasing power from outside the state to bridge the gap between demand and supply.
The policy projects that the state’s peak demand would reach around 423 MW in 2024-25 and continue to rise in the years ahead, making expansion of generation capacity and efficient power management an urgent priority.
Against this backdrop, the government promised a series of structural reforms, including the formation of a State Power Trading Company, faster project clearances, a dedicated investment portal for power projects and measures to attract private investment into hydro, thermal and renewable energy.
However, in response to queries from The Shillong Times, the Power Commissioner and Secretary Sanjay Goyal said that one of the policy’s most significant proposals—the creation of the State Power Trading Company—has not yet been implemented.
He informed that the formation of the company is still under process as it is required to meet adequacy norms prescribed by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).
A dedicated team within the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) is currently studying the feasibility, advantages and challenges of establishing the company. Until then, an Energy Management Cell has been created within MeECL to handle power management on an interim basis.
But the questions two years have gone after the policy has been unveiled, till now the statutory requirements were not met, how long more it will take?
The slow progress is also reflected in the implementation of new power projects. While the policy was expected to accelerate investments and translate them into power generation, the government admitted that no major Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) have yet been signed for large projects proposed after the notification of the policy.
Officials explained that developers are first required to complete pre-feasibility studies, profitability assessments and Detailed Project Reports before any PPA can be executed.
Since the policy came into force, the government has received four pre-feasibility reports for pumped storage hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 3,800 MW and two proposals for thermal power plants of 250 MW each. However, all these proposals remain under examination, with negotiations between the government and developers still underway. None has progressed to the stage where construction or power generation has begun.
The only PPAs signed so far are for two self-identified small hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 37.5 MW. Under these agreements, the state will purchase 30 per cent of the electricity generated while also receiving 13 per cent free power.
An implementation agreement has also been signed for the 270 MW Kynshi Stage-I hydropower project, although the government clarified that it will not purchase electricity through a PPA and will instead receive 13 per cent free power from the project.
The state is also preparing an Expression of Interest for the development of 12 small hydropower projects with a cumulative capacity of 63 MW under the Public-Private Partnership model.
Another commitment made in the policy was the creation of a dedicated online portal for power projects to simplify approvals and facilitate investment.
However, this too has not materialised in the manner envisaged. Instead of launching a separate portal exclusively for the power sector, the government stated that investors are using the existing Invest Meghalaya portal managed by the Meghalaya Investment Promotion Authority.
According to the government, the Power Policy has been aligned with the Meghalaya Industrial Policy and developers are being extended benefits available to industries through the common investment platform.
The slow pace of implementation comes at a time when consumers across Meghalaya continue to experience frequent power cuts, particularly during periods of peak demand.
While the government points to investor interest, feasibility studies and ongoing negotiations as signs of progress, the reality remains that most of the policy’s major initiatives are yet to move beyond the planning stage.
Ironically, a policy introduced to help Meghalaya reduce its dependence on purchased electricity has, so far, not resulted in any major new generation capacity coming on stream, leaving the state to continue relying on external sources even as demand continues to grow.
