Tura, July 4: Former Meghalaya finance minister, Conrad Sangma has
apprised Minister of state with independent charge for power, coal and
new and renewable energy, Piyush Goyal on the acute shortage of power
in the state by suggesting “remedies” for harnessing energy.
He drew the attention of the minister by saying that Meghalaya has
become power deficient and is not able to meet even 50% of its
unrestricted demand.
Sangma has suggested eight broad areas, which can improve the power
scenario in Meghalaya. In his letter to Goyal, Sangma suggested
“decentralization of power generation” by harnessing rain water.
“Meghalaya is blessed with abundant rain which takes the form of small
streams and rivers. If these small streams and rivers potential could
be tapped with putting up small dams and mini to micro plants it would
not only help in power generation but also conserving the rain water.
The power generated in term could be used locally without going
through the process of transmitting to far locations”, said Sangma.
He also suggested on hybrid system of power generation by using coal,
wind, solar and tidal energy, which is seasonal. “The rivers in the
state are not perennial in nature. The huge coal deposits can feed
thermal plants. There are seasons when there is ample sunshine and
strong winds. All sources of energy should be studied and mapped so
that an efficient hybrid system of power generation can be
established”, he said.
Pitching suggestions for renewable energy and net metering, he said,
“Most of the bigger power projects – be it hydro or thermal will take
time to develop. Therefore for the short and medium term renewable
forms of energy should be tapped. Be it solar or wind or biogas, the
power plants for these forms of energy could be set up faster compared
to other forms”.
He also mooted that all government offices, educational institutes
could have solar panels to harness the energy. “Wind mapping in
different parts of the state is a must, which would allow us to know
the potential of wind energy”, he stressed.
Sangma also told Goyal that there is a need for qualified and
professional manpower in the power sector. “Some districts in Garo
hills till date do not have sufficient manpower because of which the
service to the people is not provided properly and maintenance of the
lines also suffers majorly. Some districts like South Garo Hills
suffer the most because of the acute manpower shortage”, he said.
He also apprised Goyal that the Meghalaya Electricity Corporation
Limited, which was corporatized and different divisions, segregated as
per guidelines of the government of India was yet to be bifurcated.
Sangma, who has extensively studies the power generation issues of
Meghalaya, drew the attention on strengthening transmission lines.
“Most of the load centers are connected through long drawn 33 kv
lines, which are leading to heavy losses and not efficiently
transmitting the power. If these could be replaced with High tension
lines, the overall efficiency of the system would improve”, he stated.
Sangma also urged Goyal to encourage usage of power efficient devices
by reducing taxes on such products. He also mooted for aggressive
marketing on personal benefits and saving of power. “Individual
households could be sensitized about the benefits of conserving power
by focusing more on what they would gain personally if they took a
little effort to conserve power”, he stated.
In Meghalaya, production of power is from two main sources – Umiam,
which generates approximately 186 MW and Leshka, which generates 126
MW. The total generation is 311 MW. The state requires over 670 MW.(SP News)
