Nagaland power situation at an alarming stage: DoPN

‘Lean season and shut thermal stations exacerbating scarcity’

Kohima, February 12 (MExN): The Department of Power, Nagaland (DoPN) made an announcement on February 12, informing that power shortage in the state has reportedly reached an “alarming stage.” The DoPN attributed the shortage to the “lean season,” as a result of which hydro generating stations have not been generating at full capacity. It said that the shortage has been further exacerbated by thermal stations shutting down for routine maintenance. 

The announcement, which came through a press release from the Engineer-in-Chief, Er Moa Aier, stated that as the Northeastern region is largely dependent on hydro power, shortage during the lean season has been a recurrent problem but the shortage is more acute this season. “The shutdown of a major thermal power station for maintenance has worsened the power availability situation,” Aier said. 

While availability and supply has increased over the years, he said that it has not been able to catch up with a rapidly increasing rate of demand. “For instance, the peak demand of the State during the 1990s was only about 60 MW. But as of now the peak demand has increased by 300% to 180MW.

 However the availability is about 100 MW only during the peak hours. Correspondingly the cost of power purchase is also increasing year by year,” he said. 

In light of the situation, the Department requested not only judicious use of electricity but also regular payment of monthly electricity bills by the consumers. 

Terming vegetation as one of the major causes of power interruptions, he said that the Department has also been requesting the village councils through the District Administration to assist the Department in clearing vegetation near power lines. While stating that the state imports 90 percent of its energy requirements, he appealed against disrupting power installations, as it will only lead to more power instability. 

According to him, the DoPN is in the process of initiating several hydro power generation projects in the state, including new transmission and distribution lines and sub-stations, and sought the cooperation of the public. 

In regard to the HSLC and HSSLC exams, he said that the Department is taking all measures to ensure stable supply. “Therefore though at a much higher rate than the power which the State buys under long term Purchase Agreements, the State Government has allowed the purchase of additional power from the spot market from outside the NE region on emergency basis,” he said. 

However, it came with a disclaimer that “additional power in the spot market is not always readily available and availability varies from time to time.”

 On account of which, Aier said that the Department will be taking all efforts to “buy as per availability on the spot market.”