Kenye highlights power deficit in Nagaland, seeks Union support to meet future demand

November 13, 2024 7 Views No Comment

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 13 (MExN): Minister for Power and Parliamentary Affairs of Nagaland, KG Kenye, attended the Conference of Power Ministers of States and Union Territories (UTs) in New Delhi on November 12, chaired by the Union Minister for Power, Housing & Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal Khattar.

During the conference, Minister Kenye expressed his appreciation to the Union Minister for the new Generation Plan, which allocates 24% equity for projects to be implemented as Joint Ventures (JVs). He also thanked the Ministry of Power for including funding provisions for essential infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, under the plan.

Kenye highlighted the current power scenario in Nagaland, noting that the state’s peak demand is 180 MW and is expected to double to 360 MW by 2030. Presently, the state’s total installed capacity from all sources is 228 MW, but only 26 MW comes from local generation. With minimal in-state generation capacity, Nagaland largely relies on central sector allocations, supplemented by expensive power from the energy market. Given this, the development of local generation projects is a priority, and the state is making concerted efforts to address this gap.

The Minister urged the Union Minister for Power to take favorable action to help bridge the demand-supply gap and ensure that adequate resources are in place to meet Nagaland’s projected power needs by 2030, a press release issued by Er Wabangmeren Jamir, Engineer-in-Chief (Power) highlighted.

On the topic of the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), Kenye informed the conference that while there were some technical challenges that delayed the project, most issues have been resolved. He expressed confidence that work on the ground will begin soon. Once the scheme is successfully implemented, it is expected to reduce the Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) and Aggregate Commercial and Technical (AT&C) losses for the state’s power department, while improving the reliability and quality of the power supply.

Discussions during the conference also included on the operational performance and financial viability of Distribution Companies (DISCOMs), Pumped Storage Projects (PSP) and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). The implementation progress of RDSS and PM Surya Ghar schemes was also reviewed.

Minister Kenye was accompanied by Er Wabangmeren Jamir, Engineer-in-Chief (Power), and Er Moameren, Superintending Engineer (Transmission), from the Nagaland Power Department.