DIMAPUR, APRIL 18 (MExN): In the wake of the MLA K. Therie’s statement that the Likimro Hydro Energy Project was “given” to private companies free of cost and the state was now buying power from the company, the Nagaland Power department has hit back that the LHEP was never given to any company, free or otherwise. It stated that the Nagaland Government was still the owner of LHEP and that it was only the Operation and Maintenance (O & M) of the plant being leased out to the NEPL for a period of ten years and the state was paying a very minimal sum to the company for the O&M.
Transmission Engineer of Kohima Division, Er. Kasho said that since the state government had not been able to revive the LHEP which had broken down, it had decided to lease it to private companies and likewise, tender was floated for the leasing of the O&M from which the NEPL was awarded the tender. Commenting on the progress of the LHEP, Kasho said that the NEPL along with their technology partners, K-Water were doing quite well and operating “very professionally”.
Chief Secretary, Power, Basu Mathari said that the state was receiving power from Likimro at a reduced rate of Rs. 1.31 per unit including taxes against the rate of Rs. 2 per unit of power bought from the grid and hence the state was making a profit of 61 paisa per unit. Confirming that the LHEP was still a project of the state, Mathari said that the MoU of the lease could always be reviewed and Nagaland Government could still shorten or extend the lease agreement.
Talking of the month long maintenance shut-down, it was clarified that the maintenance work had been beyond ‘just the penstock’ but the entire plant was touched up and further the entire fore-bay was filled with silt and mud which would have damaged the turbines. It had therefore been imperative to shut down the entire plant for so that hereafter LHEP would not be required to carry out such shut-down.
It was further revealed from sources that in spite of the guarantee in the MoU Agreement that the LHEP would be handed over to the Leasing Company under full working condition, the plant when handed over to NEPL in a mess with many of the machines in non-working condition. It was informed that out of the three units, Unit-3 which had been damaged during transportation, and was never operational, while Unit-1 and Unit -2 had never operated above 5 MW. Additionally Unit-1 and 2 could never operate at the same time because they did not have all the parts, hence the components of one would be fitted to the other and run alternately. It was in this sorry state of affairs that the LHEP was leased out to NEPL.
Further the NEPL team encountered several other problems during the initial stages of the take over like faults in the lubricating system which resulted in the continuous damage of the turbines, non working generators, leaking expansion joints in the penstock, leakages in the foundation of turbines, lack of spare parts and the excess water drainage channel from the balancing reservoir which was eroding the soil in the fields of the Salomi villager’s.
The Eastern Overseas Corporation, a firm instrumental in setting up of the Plant was given the project to bring LHEP into full working condition, in the spirit of the Lease Agreement. The Corporation was given an amount of Rs. 9 crores for this purpose, but however fell short of fulfilling the work assigned at the time of handover to NEPL.
It was stated that the power evacuation facility at Kipheri substation was not designed to off-take 24 Mega Watts and that even if the LHEP generated at 100 percent i.e. 24 MW, the grid at Kipheri does not have the capacity to take the full load.
Er. Nitovi, Executive Engineer of LHEP also clarified that the power failure in Kipheri had nothing to do with Likimro but the problem was at Kipheri sub station in which one transformer had failed. It was revealed that the said transformer at Kipheri substation was beyond repair so a spare transformer from Dimapur was being arranged and the power situation at Kipheri would return to normal latest by 10 days.
