KG Kenye addressing the DONER Summit of North East States on Power and Energy Mix in New Delhi on December 8.
Our Correspondent
Kohima | December 8
Nagaland Power & Parliamentary Affairs Minister K. G. Kenye has emphasized the urgent need for financial and infrastructural support from the Centre to address the state’s power requirements. Attending the DONER Summit of the 7th North East States on Power and Energy Mix in the Region in New Delhi on December 8, Kenye outlined the state's immediate needs and appealed for continued assistance from the Union government.
In his address, Kenye acknowledged the efforts of the Ministry of DONER and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia for organizing the summit and suggested the need to rotate future editions of the initiative across North Eastern states. Highlighting Nagaland’s power needs, Kenye provided a comprehensive overview of the state’s hydro potential and infrastructure shortfalls.
Kenye underscored that Nagaland has a total hydroelectric potential of 633 MW (including both operational and identified capacity). However, only 104 MW has been tapped thus far, leaving an untapped potential of 529 MW. To bridge this gap, the Minister highlighted infrastructure development as a critical need.
Addressing the shortfall in transmission infrastructure, Kenye shared that to meet the projected demand of 360 MW by 2032, a total transmission capacity of 1150.5 MVA will be necessary. Of this, 400.5 MVA is currently available, and another 240 MVA is under development as part of the NERPSIP program. Nevertheless, a shortfall of 510 MVA remains, which has been incorporated into Nagaland’s Intra-state Transmission Plan for 2030/32 and approved by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
The proposed plan includes the construction of nine 132/33 kV substations and 476 km of transmission lines, with an estimated total cost of Rs. 1150.68 crore. Kenye reiterated that financial support is urgently needed from the Centre to realize this plan and ensure the state meets its growing energy demands.
In November, during the conference of Power Ministers of States and Union Territories (UTs) in New Delhi, the Nagaland Minister had echoed similar sentiments, urging 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.
