Meghalaya power crisis: Situation has improved, says MeECL MD Sanjay Goyal

Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) Managing Director Sanjay Goyal today said that there is a let up in the situation arising out of power crisis in the state that led to frequent load shedding in the state.
In an exclusive conversation with Northeast Live, Sanjay Goyal said, “As of now the situation has drastically improved, there is hardly any load shedding during the critical times in any part of the state. We are of course resorting to very small time of load shedding that too during very odd hours, at late night, so there is least inconvenience to the public.”
Sanjay Goyal also informed that the MeECL is exploring various options to boost up the power sector in the state. In this regard the Meghalaya power department has also roped in National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) who is already working on the portfolio management of the energy (electricity) in the state.
Besides, the MeECL MD also stated, “At the same we are looking into the options of how to reduce the cost of procurement of power from outside the state whether it is through exchange or through the central generating units. We are looking and examining their power purchase agreements and seeing possibilities of purchasing cheaper power from other parts of the country especially solar power during the day time so that we can reduce our cost of procurement.”
“The other side of this will be on looking after or going for additional source of generation within the state which will include the small hydropower projects as well as the possibilities of solar projects. In the long run we see the feasibility of setting up a thermal power project in the state,” Sanjay Goyal, MD of MeECL further said.
On how well the MeECL is prepared to deal with the situation in the winters when the rivers dry up, Sanjay Goyal stated, “We are prepared don’t worry. That is why we are trying to save as much water possible in Umiam and utilize it during the winters. Umiam is the only project we have where we can dam the water and use it as per requirement, rest all are run-of-river projects, we can’t store the water. We are working out and I am sure that in the coming winter we should not face much of the problem.”