SHILLONG, March 16: Meghalaya’s ailing power sector needs a major overhaul, Power Minister AT Mondal said.
“Our thrust areas will be the overall improvement of the power sector,” he told reporters after a review meeting with senior officials of his department on Thursday.
He said the department will find out ways and means to ensure MeECL becomes a profit-making entity and serves people in a better way. He said it will study recommendations and suggestions made by the various committees in this regard. “If there is a need, we will entrust some entities or government enterprises to make the corporation function in a better way,” Mondal said.
He further said the reason behind unbundling MeECL into three entities – Distribution, Transmission, and Generation – was to ensure they are self-sufficient and not dependent.
“I am sure there will be pressure even from the Chief Minister to improve the functioning of MeECL. A lot of work needs to be done so that the corporation becomes a profit-making organisation, if not immediately. We need to set a milestone for the department,” the minister said.
When reminded Meghalaya was once a power surplus state, he said that was a long time ago and the power consumption now is much higher. “Having a ceiling fan was considered luxurious in the earlier days. But now, the number of gadgets and equipment people use has gone up. The power demand keeps increasing,” Mondal said, adding it is not possible to solve the problem of power immediately.
He said there is a need to reduce the gap between requirement and supply and the department’s focus will be on how it can reduce the gap. He said he has flagged the issue of pending dues with various power generation and distribution companies.
Asked how he will address the grievances of MeECL employees, the minister said MeECL is supposed to earn from power trading and give salaries to its employees.
“However, at present, we are running at a loss and we need to find out ways and means to minimise the losses. This will help the corporation serve its officers in a better way. Many of them are not getting pensions,” Mondal said.
He said MeECL is also suffering due to the agreement with the NTPC. “We will be in a better position if we resolve the issue with the NTPC,” he said.
