Meghalaya: Load-shedding will be reduced in phase manner, says Power Minister

Power Minister Abu Taher Mondal on July 7 said that the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeEC) has decided to reduce the load shedding in a phased manner.  

“This season we have banked a lot of power with the commitment that the moment we are surplus we will return to them. So we are working on that,” Mondal told reporters.
 
“Moreover, we are reducing our purchasing also because, at one point in time, we are purchasing at quite a high rate. So we stop purchasing at a high rate. That is why we will try to see as early as possible to reduce the load shedding. Load shedding may be there but with a reduced period,” he added.
 
When asked, Mondal said,  “As of now, there is nothing to mitigate the problem but on a future basis, we are working on various sectors to see that at one-time generation can be increased, losses can be minimized, in this way, we are trying to see that our power problem will be solved.”

On Wednesday, the Meghalaya High Court directed the state to file a comprehensive report indicating the measures to reduce the shortfall of power in the state. 

It also asked the State to indicate the measures taken to obtain additional power from the national grid and other sources that are available to reduce the shortfall.
 
Mondal said that the government respects the directions given by the high court.
 
“See last few days or months, we were purchasing power at a very high rate to the tune of Rs 3 crore per day. If it is available, we can purchase it, there is no problem and rate is also a factor on which we got to see. The first and foremost thing is that it should be available in the market. We purchased from private entities also but the rate was quite high,” he said.