Power crisis hits Meghalaya: HC asks State Govt, MeECL to buy more power

Pulling up the govt and MeECL, the Court said, “Electricity is no longer a luxury. It is the state’s responsibility to ensure that there is adequate availability of electricity as

Amid the shortage of electricity and the frequent power cuts that many parts of Meghalaya is facing, the Meghalaya High Court has asked the state government to buy more power from the open grid, share with the Court the roster to ensure equitable distribution of the load shedding hours across the state and also file affidavits with information of alternative arrangements being made to ensure uninterrupted power supply in hospitals, airports and other key facilities.

Interesting to note that power supply was disrupted, though just for few minutes, at the courtroom where this power disruption related case was being heard.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W Diengdoh who was hearing the case said, “Ironically, even while the order is being dictated, the power supply to this court has been interrupted. The power has resumed within a few second, but it may be a sign that the state ought to give an adequate answer.”

The Bench further ordered, “The State and the MeECL will file independent affidavits to indicate the immediate, the short-term and the long-term measures and projections of demand and plan of action during accidental shutdown of any power plant and alternative sources that may be available in the state.”

The court’s ruling came in response to a PIL filed regarding the frequent power cuts in the state and the arbitrary load-shedding that has been resorted to by the officials.

MeECL Chairman submitted before the Court that against a requirement of around 200 million units, Meghalaya has just about 88 million units of electricity. The Chairman attributed this shortfall to a closure of a power plant in Tripura due to technical reasons and informed that Meghalaya is yet to find an alternative source of power.

In response to this the Court said, “Electricity is no longer a luxury. It is the state’s responsibility to ensure that there is adequate availability of electricity as per demand and plans should be in place to meet the increased future demands.”

The court also said that the state should buy power from the open grid and enter into arrangements with power companies, several of whom operate in the Northeast, to ensure that adequate electricity is available to the citizens, subject to the cost therefor being met by the citizens.

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