Power generation expected very soon
Al Ngullie
DIMAPUR, SEPTEMBER 19
THE gloomy ‘prophecy’ of at least 7% jump in demand for power in Nagaland predicted by the Central Electrical Authority of India (CEA), Government of India, might be withered by a substantial power pack the State would be receiving soon from none other than the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited. In August this year, the Union Ministry of Power’s CEA had predicted that the relentless shortage of electricity and energy peripherals in Nagaland would aggravate during the concurrent year i.e., 2013-2014, in the form of a dramatic jump in demand/requirement for power.
The power crisis in the state would possibly be mitigated by the 27 Megawatts that the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) would be supplying to Nagaland in few months. An agreement is already in place. The electricity is from the ONGC’s first ever power venture in the north east region in the form of the ONGC Tripura Power Company Limited, located at Palatana in Udaipur district in the former princely state. The 726 megawatts gas-thermal project will be adding at least 12 percent to the total power capacity of the region.
According to the ONGC’s power take-out statement obtained here today, the proposed share holding pattern of North East Transmission Company Ltd is 26% each for Power Grid and OTPC, 10% each for Tripura and Mizoram, 13% for Assam, 6% for Manipur, 5% for Meghalaya and 4% for Nagaland.
The installed power capacity of Nagaland totals 103.18 megawatts from two sources – hydro (53.32 MW) and thermal (gas and coal) generation. Further, the actual power supply situation in terms of Demand-in and Demand-met during 2012-2013 stands at 110 megawatts at peak. Out of it, only 109 megawatts was met. The 27 megawatts from Tripura’s Palatana project injected into Nagaland’s power load at peak would now be 137 Megawatts – a comfortable situation for at least the concurrent year 2013-2014.
It is not only Nagaland that would be receiving power, courtesy the Ministry of Power’s allocation. Assam and Tripura are the states that have taken the lion’s share at 240 megawatts and 196% megawatts, in that order. The range of power to be allocated to the NE states from the ONGC station was decided and finalized by the Union Ministry of Power, the ONGC stated in its project overview today.
“Sale of majority power from the project under long term arrangement to NER beneficiary states is based on allocation decided by the Ministry of Power. As per the allocation decided by the Ministry of Power, 628MW has been allocated to the North Eastern States. The balance 98MW would be sold on merchant basis by OTPC,” the station’s power-take overview stated.
After President Pranab Mukherjee dedicated the power plant to the nation in June this year, the ONGC Tripura Power Company was scheduled to commence generation around this time. However, due to “technical snags” detected in September first week this year, generation was held up. Although a date has yet to be set for the station to start generation, there are expectations that it would be in a month or so.
Waiting for the station to commence generation must appear a tantalizing event considering that the magnitude of power shortage in Nagaland has often pitted electricity workers, public and government against each other. As reported by Eastern Mirror this year, the CEA had stated that a jump in demand/requirement of electricity in Nagaland was expected in the concurrent period of 2013-2014 from 5% at least to 7%.
Once the ONGC Tripura Power Company’s commences generation, fewer fights and subsided tension may be expected among Nagaland power employees, Nagaland’s citizens and Nagaland government leaders.
