Shillong, July 15: Power Minister Abu Taher Mondal has expressed concern over the decrease in the water level of the Umiam Lake. According to him, less water in the reservoir will definitely impact power generation.
“We wish that water will come soon to fill up the reservoir. I am more tense that you are,” stated Mondal while responding to a query during a press briefing held on Tuesday.
The minister mentioned that the current water level in the Umiam Lake is okay, but the situation may change depending on the monsoon.
“As of now we are okay but I don’t know how long monsoon will elude us and it will depend on all that.
Yes, if monsoon is okay then we will get lots of water,” he said.
The minister however said it is too early to predict if the situation will lead to imposition of load shedding.
When asked if lack of rainfall is affecting other power projects including Leshka, Mondal emphasized that when the monsoon is good, water is available, and generation is high, but when the monsoon is less, generation is affected.
He cited an example saying, “Ganol, which the maximum capacity is 22.5 megawatt, this time when the premonsoon was hitting us, you must have seen those garbages have accumulated there in Ganol, those few days we generated even 24 megawatt meaning .5 megawatt per unit we generated more. So more water more generation naturally.”
Further, the minister also highlighted that the state is purchasing and selling power through the energy exchange route.
He mentioned that the state’s dues to central utilities like NEEPCO, NTPC, and Power grid have been neutralized, and efforts are being made to repay the outstanding dues of Rs 664 crore to NTPC by 2027.
“We have some dues with NTPC that is the dues accumulated over the years. It was around Rs 664 crore. We are targeting by 2027 we will neutralise that dues also,” Mondal stated.
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