Tripura minister blocks gas price hike, extra power purchase proposal at NERPC meet

Tripura Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath successfully opposed two key proposals at the 29th North Eastern Regional Power Committee (NERPC) meeting held in Guwahati on Friday, leading to their withdrawal, an official confirmed on Saturday.

During a technical session of the meeting, a representative from ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC), which operates the Palatana mega power plant, proposed a hike in gas prices, citing rising per-unit generation costs in the region. Nath objected, stating that such a move would impose a financial burden on lakhs of consumers across Tripura and the Northeast.

“We can’t support any hike in gas prices that will hurt consumers. The minister made it clear that affordability for the public must come first,” said Biswajit Bose, Managing Director of Tripura State Electricity Corporation Ltd (TSECL), speaking to PTI.

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Another proposal from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), urging northeastern states to purchase 13% more power than their current demand, was also met with strong resistance from Nath. “Buying unnecessary power will strain our finances and, in the end, consumers will bear the cost. The minister firmly opposed this idea,” Bose added.

Following these objections, the NERPC, chaired by Meghalaya Power Minister Abu Taher Mondal, dropped both proposals.

During the meeting, Nath also presented achievements in Tripura’s power sector, including the generation of 26 MW of solar energy, the installation of 45,000 solar street lights and 4,900 solar pumps, and infrastructure upgrades supported by the Asian Development Bank. Additionally, Bose revealed that NHPC is set to develop an 800 MW pumped water storage power plant in the state.