Nagaland proposal is not economically feasible: PC
Al Ngullie
June 2
Morung Express News
After a long hunt, power-starved Nagaland’s eternal hope in the thermal-power alternative is finally a kaput-chapter for good. The Planning Commission of India has declined the state’s long-running bid to harness Thermal energy as the alternative source of power over hydel-based energy for the state. The Planning Commission is said to have observed that the thermal alternative – not to speak of the funds essential for instating infrastructure alone – is not economically feasible for Nagaland.
For years now, the Government of Nagaland had been laboring to mount power from thermal sources to compensate for the measly measure of power produced by the state’s bare-minimum hydro-power plants. The efforts of the Power department were envisaged to push the state to self-reliance and self-sufficiency in energy generation.
In confirming the not-so-good-news, Parliamentary Secretary for Power Y Doshehe Sema said the Planning Commission has already declined the state’s bid. Quoting the Planning Commission’s observation why it refused the alternative, Sema said ‘it is too costly, not cost-effective and providing power to the state from thermal sources is a “challenge.”’ An allegory may be drawn here over the Planning Commission’s explanation on why the state was rejected her thermal push: The heavy-fuel, oil-based 22.92 Megawatt thermal power plant in Dimapur was abandoned after a hefty backlog of Rs. 105.57 Crore.
In fact, if records are anything to go by, the Planning Commission had written to the chief minister of Nagaland as early as May 2007, declining the bid for thermal sources. A letter addressed to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio from the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh said “providing power to the state is a challenge.” Sema admitted that the thermal alternative is costly and not cost-effective as the Centre had observed, still, he implied it was the one major option left for the state to generate sufficient power.
Mercifully, to balance the thermal flop, the commission has suggested that the state government explore alternative power sources in the micro-hydel sector as recompense. According to the Parliamentary Secretary for Power, the government is undertaking surveys to setting up small hydro-based generators.
So far, Sema informed, the government has identified about 72 potential sites across the state to set up hydel-based generator-infrastructure. It was informed that the sites showing promise include the upstream of Doyang, Tizu and the Dhansiri tributary Tsu. ‘Economical’ upstream micro-hydel projects were explained to be more feasible in terms of its cost-effectiveness compared to thermal-based producers. The power generation index that was estimated from micro-hydel projects figured around 100 Megawatt. Equally, the funds could turn out quite substantial. For starters, the approximate fund required for a single project was placed at about Rs 10 to 20 Crore.
Still, Doshehe Sema took the commission’s rejection in his stride and expressed hope to intensifying efforts toward making the state self-reliant and self-sufficient in electrical energy. “Our hope is to generate power from our own land; we are wasting our water, we are wasting our sun…we need to be self-reliant and self-sufficient,” he said referring to the state’s dependence on retailed power from other states.
Now that the thermal bid is over, Sema assured to take up with the Centre, the matter of hydro-based power projects. The issue that has currently come to hold a bucket of worry for now is funds. On the mere strength of the proposal for the micro-hydel projects alone, he said, ‘we need funds.’
