Consumers get over 23 hrs of power supply: Biswajit
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, February 28 2023:
Power Minister Thongam Biswajit has stated that the State is yet to provide electricity to its consumers 24 hours a day but nonetheless consumers in both valley and hill districts get electricity for about 23.5 hours in a day.
The Power Minister made this statement during the question hour in the Mani-pur Legislative Assembly today.
Responding to a query raised by Congress MLA K Meghachandra on behalf of his fellow MLA K Ranjit who was taking a leave, Th Biswajit continued that about 250 MW of power is required in Manipur during the peak hours.
Saying that the pre-construction process of Loktak Downstream Project has already completed but the actual work hasn't begun yet, the Power Minister maintained that an expenditure of about Rs 63.53 crore was made in the pre-construction stage .
Further stating that the State spends about Rs 921.03 crore in purchasing power and other associated works annually, Th Biswajit said that the expenditure for purchasing power alone is Rs 681.21 crore.
He said that prepaid metres have been installed in almost every household including at hill district headquarters.
Of the 5.1 lakh power consumers in Manipur, 4.6 lakhs them have access to prepaid facilities, he added.
Continuing that the Government provides about Rs 300 crore annually to purchase equipment for prepaid meters and the number of consumers having the facility is increasing, Th Biswajit maintained that the State Government provides subsidies to power consumers.
In dry months, the State purchases power at a rate as high as Rs 12 per unit from the open market, the Minister said and added that the Government faces certain inconveniences in purchasing power.
To another query brought up by Opposition MLA Okram Surjakumar regarding the drought that occurred in Manipur in 2019 (Kharif season), Relief and Disaster Management Minister Awangbow Newmai responded that the State sought a relief assistance of Rs 151.04 crore, but only Rs 26.53 crore was released in 2020 from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) .