SHILLONG, March 12: The Meghalaya government is optimistic about clearing the dues of NTPC Limited worth Rs 565 crore by 2026-27.
Replying to a cut motion in the Assembly on Wednesday, Power Minister Abu Taher Mondal said the initial loan of Rs 488 crore was neutralised to some extent by a loan of Rs 244 crore in 2023. Still, due to interest and other charges, the loans accumulated to Rs 664 crore.
Following this, the state government met with NTPC officials, which gave a rebate of Rs 99 crore, thereby reducing the loan component to Rs 565 crore. The NTPC initially asked the government to clear the dues in 20 instalments but agreed to the state government’s request for payment in 36 instalments.
As of now, the MeECL is paying Rs 15.7 crore to the NTPC every month and it is confident of clearing the dues by 2026-27.
The MeECL has no current energy dues to NEEPCO, NTPC, and PowerGrid.
According to Mondal, the effective use of the Umiam Hydro project enabled the government to earn Rs 500 crore during the current fiscal. He said the government now generates power from Umiam only when the demand and rates for selling power are high and it is sold through the Indian Energy Exchange.
The House was also told that the share of Meghalaya from the NTPC project in Bongaigaon was being sold to states such as Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand but the Meghalaya government is now taking its share of 88 MW from the plant. This has helped MeECL in improving the power scenario in the state.
The minister said the Mawlai substation is overburdened as it caters to 60% area of Shillong.
“We will soon float a tender to upgrade the Mawlai substation. The NEHU substation is also being upgraded and new ones are being planned in Mawkhanu,” he said.
Informing the House that the government would soon replace around 1 lakh rusted electric poles through the RDSS and ADB schemes, he said that the corporation lacks the manpower to maintain substations, necessitating the outsourcing of maintenance work to a firm with strict directions that preference should be given to locals.
Mondal also said the government has introduced a unified billing system and consumers can pay their bills online.
In the same app, the corporation received about 2,080 complaints in a year pertaining primarily to over-billing and power disruptions, and 1,973 such complaints have been resolved.
He further told the House that about 40% of the monthly bills are now paid online.
Mondal further said the government is investing Rs 1.5 crore to upgrade the distribution transformer workshop which will enhance the capacity of transformer repair from 418 per year to 860 per year.
