Uttarakhand Chief Minister Meets Union Energy Minister Shri R.K. Singh
Damaged power lines due to the disaster will be compensated by the Central Government
allocation of 400-450 MW from coal based plants to Uttarakhand. The Chief Minister said that in order to secure the base load of the state’s energy security and to keep the state free from widespread power cuts, it is necessary to make permanent allocation of 400 MW from coal-based plants to the state of Uttarakhand.
The Chief Minister requested the Central Government to provide assistance to restore the power lines and towers damaged due to the calamity. The Union Minister said that compensation for the damaged lines will be done by the Central Government, he said that after conducting a survey of the damaged power towers, its report should be sent to the Government of India, the reimbursement will be considered after getting it tested.
The Chief Minister requested to set up power lines and power plants in the border area at the earliest. For which the Union Minister said that by setting standards separately for the hilly states, power lines and power plants will be set up in the border areas soon.
The Chief Minister requested the State Government to provide additional power from the Central Pool. The Union Minister agreed to this. The Chief Minister said that work is being done on a long-term plan for power generation from solar energy, hydro power and coal in the state.
The Chief Minister thanked the Union Minister for providing an average of 300 MW electricity per month from the unallocated quota from April to September 2023. He said that more than 60 percent of the total energy availability in the state of Uttarakhand is from hydro power plants, in which there is a wide fluctuation in availability with seasonal changes and the production remains about one-third in the winter season.
The Chief Minister said that the technical committee of the Central Electricity Authority in its report has given its recommendation for ensuring the availability of about 400 MW of electricity from coal-based plants in Uttarakhand, while accepting the non-availability of base load in the state of Uttarakhand. In view of the energy security of the state, it is very necessary to make permanent allocation of 400 MW from coal based plants to the state of Uttarakhand in order to secure the base load and to keep the state free from widespread power cuts. On which the Union Minister agreed.
Union Minister Shri RK Singh assured Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami of all possible cooperation. In relation to the Kishau Dam, the Union Minister said that after holding discussions with all the states, the work would be started soon after settling the objections.
Secretary Energy, Government of India Shri Pankaj Arora, Secretary Energy, Uttarakhand Shri R Meenakshi Sundaram and MD UPCL Shri Anil Kumar were present on the occasion.
