State government 'making efforts' for power projects in Nagaland: Minister
What's the story
The Nagaland Government is "making all efforts" to engage firms for studying the feasibility of power projects in the state, Minister Neiba Kronu has said.
The state, despite having potential sites for hydropower generation, spends more than Rs. 250cr to purchase power from other parts of the country, the Planning, Coordination, and Land Revenue Minister lamented.
Here are more details.
Electricity generator
Nagaland is lowest generator of electricity in the country: Kronu
"Nagaland is the lowest generator of electricity... It spends over Rs. 250cr annually to buy power from others, but the revenue generated through distribution doesn't exceed Rs. 120cr," Kronu said yesterday after inspecting a potential hydropower project site at Tizu in Phek district earlier this week.
The Minister also held a meeting with village council representatives and other leaders during the visit.
Energy consumption
Nagaland's energy consumption during peak hours is 165MW
"The government is making all efforts to study feasibility of power projects...including the one at Tizu. The villagers, during the recent meet, have assured us that they would cooperate with the state government for the Tizu power project," Kronu said.
The 2017-18 administrative report of power department said the state's energy consumption during peak hours is tipped at 165MW and off-peak hours at 100MW.
Energy requirement
Nagaland's energy requirement expected to reach 250MW by 2020
The administrative report maintained that the energy sector is investment-intensive and therefore Nagaland with its limited resources, was unable to upgrade power infrastructure in sync with the demand.
"Currently, Nagaland has 2,79,974 electricity consumers. The state generates just about 84.93 MW of energy from its four power stations. However, the requirement by 2020 is expected to reach 250 MW," the report added.