CM calls on Union Power Minister ML Khattar
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 27 Jun: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami made a courtesy call on Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in New Delhi today and congratulated him on assuming charge. On this occasion, the CM also urged the Union Minister to approve the permanent allocation of 500 MW additional power supply from central thermal plants to Uttarakhand.
The Chief Minister requested the Union Minister to approve the permanent allocation of 500 MW additional power supply from Central Thermal Plants to Uttarakhand State to meet the base load requirements of the state and to reduce the gap between demand and availability of electricity.
The Chief Minister said that in Uttarakhand, only hydroelectric power generation centres are established, as a result of which more than 55 percent of the total energy mix of the state is obtained from hydroelectric power sources. Only 15 percent of the power is obtained from coal based plants. As a result of the lack of base load capacity in the state, it has become a challenge for the state to ensure energy security and to meet the power demand.
Dhami pointed out that during the winter months, on an average, only 300 to 400 MW of energy is obtained from the hydroelectric power sources of the state, which makes energy security more vulnerable. The proposals for establishment of hydropower projects of a total capacity of about 4800 MW are pending in various High Courts or at other levels mainly due to environmental reasons. As a result, the gap between the demand and availability of electricity in the state is continuously increasing as no new hydropower projects could be developed in the state in past few years.
The CM also said that in the Resource Adequacy Studies conducted this year by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) New Delhi, it has also been recommended to allocate 1,200 MW additional electricity from coal based thermal plants in the Energy Mix of Uttarakhand state by the year 2027-28. He asserted that the target is to double the economy of the state over the next five years. To achieve this goal, there is an urgent need to expand the state’s infrastructure, in which the state is attracting investments mainly in sectors like industrialisation, service sectors including tourism, agriculture and forestry and education, etc. Due to increasing investment, a sharp increase in demand for electricity is expected in the near future.
