SHILLONG, April 4: The state government has around Rs 480 crore at the rate of Rs 120 crore per annum as fixed charge to NTPC or National Thermal Power Corporation Limited till 2018 despite not drawing any power since 2015 under compulsion due to the power purchase agreement signed by the state government with NTPC in 2007.
Deputy Chief Minister in-charge of Power, Prestone Tynsong on Monday told reporters that the Government of India has issued an order to reallocate 53 MW out of 87 MW of power sanctioned for Meghalaya from NTPC to Tamil Nadu and this arrangement will continue for the next five years.
Terming the agreement between the then government and NTPC as “faulty”, Tynsong said, “I fail to understand why this agreement was signed to purchase power at Rs 6 per unit at that time when the state was selling power at a little over Rs 4 per unit.”
According to Tynsong, due to the high cost of power per unit, Meghalaya stopped drawing power from NTPC in 2015 but still had to pay a fixed amount of Rs 120 crore annually as per the agreement signed in 2007.
Expressing gratefulness to the Government of India for issuing the order to reallocate 53 MW of power to Tamil Nadu, Tynsong said the state government will ensure that the balance of 30-34 MW is also reallocated at the earliest.
“I am confident the GOI will help us with the help of the North Eastern Regional Power Committee (NERPC) which is chaired by Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio and has all the Power ministers of the NE states as members,” Tynsong said.
