It is an open fact that the situation of power outages is at an abysmal scenario in Nagaland. The State has been ailing for long under this prevalent pathetic condition even after 52 years of statehood. The power outages have for long held the graph of development just at the starter’s line. The people are deprived of the basic necessity of the modern developed world without which an economy comes to a standstill. Statistics show that only 311 kWh is the per capita consumption of power in Nagaland during Financial Year (FY) 2014-2015, whereas the national average hovered at 1010 kWh.
This statistical figure depicts the sorry figure of power crisis that our state is reeling in, the sporadic and unreliable supply of electricity. So, in this article the root cause of the power outages has been delved into by taking various reports of Central and State government data which points to some glaring problems like, the sale of power in Nagaland which does not compensate for the expenditure meted out on the purchase, lack of infrastructure to meet the energy demand of the state and an unutilized potential capacity of power generation.
To meet the needs of the State’s power demand in the FY2014-15, 88.07% of our electricity was sourced through purchase. What is outrageous is that Rs. 36,665.68 lakhs was spend to purchase 621.69 MKWH as the energy demand stood at 705.83 MKWH. Whereas the collection from sale of electricity amounted to a mere Rs. 9,867.24 lakhs, i.e. Rs. 26,798.44 lakhs paid from the State exchequer’s coffers to compensate for the deficit. The projected energy requirement for FY 2016-17 stands at 812.79 MU and as years go by the demand will increase tremendously and the pressure to supply uninterrupted electricity will increase too. What needs to be introspected with this horrendous statistical data, is, what ails our power department in creating this enormous deficit.
It is an open fact that electricity is pilferaged thus adding an enormous burden on revenue deficit and offenders are left scot free. And as such, there are no check and balances. To discourage such offences, offenders found pilferaging must be penalised according to the law and there must be strict adherence of the punishment laid down in the Electricity Act of 2003. Likewise, the State’s Anti-Power Theft Mobile Squad (APTMS), should not be a mere paper tiger and/or lame sitting ducks, their services must be utilised upto optimum with proper training and efficiently groomed to bring the offenders under the outreach of the law.
At the other end of the spectrum, what consumers need to understand is that, for the efficient delivery of uninterrupted power transmission, they should bear in mind that power dues must be paid, and on time. It is easy to hook on the blame of efficiency on the department of power and government every time. But what needs to be introspected is that everything cannot be doled out as a freebee (as our revenue deficit runs into Rs. 26,798.44 lakhs for payment of power dues). If so, a state like ours with just skeletal means of income cannot pay from the coffers of the State every time for balancing the revenue deficit of its people. Otherwise the power outages will be there to stay and like it or not, the authorities would be helpless to fulfill the power consumption needs.
The other problem is that there has been a palpable “administrative ambition” with our Government. According to Economic Survey of Nagaland (ESN)2015-16, 1,326 villages have been electrified out of 1,401 habited villages in our state. One reason stated by the State in ESN 15-16 for low revenue returns is the extensive rural electrification and long transmission networks. Analysing from the perspective of inclusive developmental plans, it is a commendable fact that such exercise could be carried out by an economically weak state like ours. But the grim scenario is whether the so called electrified villages see the light after sunset. Even in township areas, to have even 12 effective hours of uninterrupted power supply is a blessing that many devour it with blissful anticipation and gratitude. What needs to be done is instead of promising the poor villagers electricity, it would be great if existing infrastructure is upgraded and put on hold the extensive electrification plans without really bridging the demand supply gap. Otherwise what will people do with wires hanging up above their thatched roofs with no benefits of electrification.
Analysing the present power scenario and topping it with the dismal performance of our government in mitigating the challenge of supplying uninterrupted power, it still projects a bleak future for the State in becoming power sufficient. The only glimmer of hope to such grim affairs of power outages is that the State owns at least some hydroelectric project like Likimro and the small and micro hydroelectricity projects like Lang, Duilumroi, Tehok and Telangsao which minutely mitigates the power shortages of the State. With Dikhu, Lower Tizu and upper Zunkgi projects envisioned on the pipeline of the State’s list of power projects in the future, hopefully some of the challenges of intermittent power supply should be compensated. The brightest side however to the State’s power crisis is that, the data of Energy Statistics 2016 highlighted that our state has the potential capacity of generating 16 MW wind power, 197 MW small hydro power, 10 MW biomass power and 7290 MW of solar energy which totals to a staggering 7513 MW. If these statistics are to be taken into account, the energy deficit gap would be buried just by using renewable resources (though to reach the full potential capacity is more of a pipe dream in real terms), but even if we can use up the potentiality upto a certain percentage, not only will we have uninterrupted access to electricity but we can become a power exporting state (think about the revenue and employment it will generate for the State).These datas highlights that there is potential to provide uninterrupted supply of power in the state. But what seems to be the concern is the lack of will power of the stakeholders to speed up and efficiently utilize the existing resources available at hand to manage and run our State’s department of power.
So, how long will the State’s economic and social fabric sustain and thrive with the intermittent power outages and dwell in the ‘realm of darkness’? The statement our government in Economic Survey of Nagaland 2016is self-explanatory and aptly sums up the necessity of having uninterrupted power supply. “Power is an important input for any development efforts. It is the basic infrastructure requirement for growth of industries, IT enabled services as well as overall growth of the economy in the State. In addition to its role as a catalyst to economic growth, power sector facilitates activities for generation of employment opportunities”.
Kumdilong Kessen
