DIMAPUR, JUNE 2: The Department of Power, Nagaland, has informed all the electricity consumers and the general public that due to low generation from the Hydro Power Stations and the resultant reduced power allocation to the State, the Department is compelled to impose load shedding throughout the State.
The Department said presently, the State’s power availability is around 147 MW out of a peak demand of 180 MW (60MW during the 1990s). The State owned Likimro Hydro Electric Project has also been generating around 6 to 12 MW only out of its installed capacity of 24 MW for approximately 12 hours a day due to poor hydrological condition during this season.
Due to extreme weather conditions during the last few days there has been rise in the power demand resulting to burning of distribution transformers due to overloading especially in Dimapur and adjoining areas, Chief Engineer (T&G), Er Penrithung Yanthan said adding the Divisions concerned are making all efforts to restore/replace the damaged transformers on war footing.
The Department also informed that one of the units of the Palatana Thermal Power station located at Tripura from where the State gets maximum allocation would be under shutdown from June 2 for Annual maintenance which would further aggravate the State’s power shortage situation.
The Department, however, in order to tide over the power shortage, is making an arrangement to purchase additional power at a higher cost as a short term measure during this crisis.
As load shedding is inevitable, the Department is regulating the load shedding on rotational basis among the three load centres of the State i.e., Dimapur, Kohima and Mokokchung load centres.
However, the Chief Engineer said the Department has anticipated that this power shortage and load shedding crises would repeat every year.
Nagaland is 90% dependent on import of power. The only long term solution is for a concerted and prioritized effort to reduce this dependency upto the extent possible by developing our own internal Hydro power generation which the Department at present is facing some difficulties to overcome.
As the domestic loads are increasing day by day due to rise in installations and usage of high power consuming electrical appliances like Air Conditioners, Refrigerators, water boilers and rice cookers, etc, the Department has appealed to esteemed consumers for judicious use of electricity by switching off appliances when not in use.
The Department hoped that this practice would help in reducing the domestic load consumption to a large extent and would contribute immensely in reducing the duration and quantum of load shedding.
The Department further informed that the power situation would be improved with the onset of monsoon and appealed to the consumers and the public in general to bear with the inconveniences caused due to the power instability.
(Page News Service)
