By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Feb 24: Stating that MePDCL’s losses dipped to Rs 35 crore in FY 2024-25 and that Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses fell to 10.76%, Power Minister Metbah Lyngdoh on Tuesday defended the financial and operational turnaround of Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) during his reply in the Assembly.
Lyngdoh said AT&C losses dropped significantly from 37.27% in 2018-19 to 10.76% in 2024–25, while technical losses (transmission and distribution) declined from 36.20% to 16.60% during the same period. Collection efficiency increased from 87% to 107%, and the ACS-ARR gap improved from Rs 1.18 per kWh in 2018–19 to 30 paise per kWh in 2024–25, indicating a strengthening of the DISCOM’s financial health.
On UDAY-linked commitments, the Minister informed the House that the state had taken over losses amounting to Rs 322.54 crore between 2018-19 and 2021-22, according to the agreed formula under the tripartite MoU signed in March 2017.
He acknowledged that operational funding support of Rs 1,165 crore, envisaged under the MoU, was not provided up to 2021-22, which affected the pace of the financial turnaround.
He stated that the corporation’s total outstanding loans stood at Rs 2,015.75 crore. Of this, loans not allowed in tariff included MeECL bonds of Rs 630 crore, a PFC Atmanirbhar loan of Rs 423.55 crore and an REC Atmanirbhar loan of Rs 393.34 crore, together constituting 72% of the total outstanding debt.
He added that the state had committed to taking over 100% of losses from 2025-26 onwards under the reform-linked borrowing framework. Highlighting improvements in transmission, Lyngdoh said the Transmission Availability Factor had increased from 96.85% in 2018-19 to 99.70% in 2024-25, while transmission losses had reduced from 5.13% to 2.53%. The line length at the 220 kV level had grown by 114% and at the 132 kV level by 38% since 2018-19, along with a significant enhancement in transformation capacity.
On distribution infrastructure, he said more than 3,447 transformers had been installed under various schemes, and 1,690 had been procured over the last five years.
The transformer failure rate stood at 5.32% in 2021-22, 5.30% in 2022-23, 6.22% in 2023-24, 6.75% in 2024-25, and 4.78% in 2025-26 to date, which he said was comparable to the national average of around 6%. Replacement rates ranged between 87% and 106% during this period.
Detailing quality control mechanisms, the Minister said transformers undergo factory inspection before empanelment, as well as type and routine testing in accordance with Indian Standard 1180, followed by physical inspection at central stores. For turnkey projects, mandatory pre-dispatch inspections include double frequency tests, temperature rise tests, no-load and full-load tests, breakdown dielectric voltage tests, vacuum tests and winding resistance tests.
He informed the House that MeECL had entered into an MoU with the Central Power Research Institute and was in the process of establishing a NABL-accredited laboratory for equipment testing, the first of its kind in the northeastern region.
Lyngdoh further stated that MePDCL had invested around Rs 2 crore to enhance transformer repair capacity, increasing it from 480 DTRs per year to 860 DTRs per year.
Over the last seven years, 2,207.73 circuit km of HT lines and 1,254.94 circuit km of three-phase LT lines had been constructed, 2,676 new distribution transformers installed, and 33 new 33/11 kV substations added, while 41 substations had been augmented. Work for the electrification of around 55,000 left-out households in 2,500 villages had also been awarded.
He maintained that while MeECL was working towards financial self-sufficiency, continued government support would be required for a few more years to address legacy liabilities and consolidate the turnaround.
