The CIHSR power sub-station (SS) which was upgraded to 10MVA was inaugurated by Nagaland Advisor for Power Tovihoto Ayemi on November 6. (Morung Photo)

Calls for a corresponding enhancement in 11KV distribution lines
Morung Express News
Dimapur | November 6
The erstwhile 33/11 KV 5MVA Sub-station at CIHSR, Dimapur has now been doubled up to a 10 MVA capacity sub-station. Situated within the Christian Institute of Health Sciences & Research campus, it caters to not only medical facility but also to several localities and neighbourhoods in the vicinity.
Advisor for Power, H Tovihoto Ayemi inaugurated the upgraded sub-station, which came at a cost of Rs 1.98cr, on November 6. The project, implemented under the North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP) and funded by the World Bank, took 3 years to complete (2018-May 2021).
Speaking at the inaugural programme, Ayemi emphasised the growing need for power and the corresponding requirement to upgrade the distribution system to meet the demand. “For any development, for progress, we need enough and stable power supply. But to give proper power supply to all the consumers, you need sub-stations and this is one of it,” he said.
With Dimapur’s urban core becoming congested by the day, he said that people are opting to live in the outskirts. Besides the increasing population, he added that the existence of an important hospital like the CIHSR implies the need for increasing supply capacity.
In this regard, he disclosed that a project is in the planning stage for a new 50 MVA capacity sub-station in Dimapur. He added that the proposed project would happen in the “immediate future” and for which land has been demarcated.
The need for more sub-stations comes with a catch however. Chief Engineer (Distribution & Revenue), Moa Aier stressed that there must be a corresponding augmentation of 11KV distribution lines. He explained that supply of power happens in stages where voltage is stepped down from point to point to ultimately bring it to consumers through 11/.40 KV transformers. In short, there must be sufficient 11 KV distribution lines to evacuate the enhanced supply capacity of sub-stations like the one installed at the CIHSR.
He estimated that over the next 5 years, the supply capacity would need to be enhanced by 50-60MVA annually.
By 2022-23, power requirement in Nagaland is projected to rise to 400 MW from the prevailing peak demand of 170-180 MW. Moreover, Dimapur and Kohima combined consumed 3/4th of the electricity quota for the state.
Transitioning to prepaid
Further, with the Union Ministry of Power notifying the mandatory installation of prepaid metering, the Advisor for Power said that Nagaland must also transition to prepaid power consumption by the December 2023 deadline. With resistance from consumers palpable, Ayemi said that as notified, it has to be implemented as “Nagaland is no exception.”
According to him, the prepaid system will be advantageous to consumers on many grounds. With prepaid, he said that consumers would pay as per consumption, buy as per need, do away with “minimum billing,” can recharge online and importantly, “No more erroneous billing.”