Centre to invest Rs 46,000 cr in NE power sector
Agartala, Sep 19 : In a bid to boost the power sector in the northeast region, the Centre has mooted a proposal of investing Rs 46,000 crore to set up new power transmission systems on public-private partnership(PPP) model.
Northeastern Electric Power Corporation(NEEPCO) officials here today said the transmission structure is expected to carry 46,000 MW power from different Northeastern states and neighbouring Bhutan to India.
The proposed investment, to be undertaken jointly with private companies and would entail setting up of 12 high-capacity transmission corridors through the region, to connect with the rest of the country by 2012.
Referring to the Planning Commission’s communiqué, officials here underlined that the proposed investments would be separated from the investments planned for the national power transmission grid.
The total hydro-power generation potential of the Northeast was almost 58,000 MW while the domestic demand in the region is expected to rise to 12,000 MW. The transmission capacity of the new system would have a capacity of 46,000 MW and the power produced will be transmitted outside the region, officials stated.
Sources here said that the country's total transmission capacity of 16,500 MW was insufficient to handle the 78,570 MW additional capacity that the government had targeted over the next five years.
They said that India had already signed an agreement with Bhutan for power utilisation and setting up a hydro electrical project in the Himalayan kingdom.
--- UNI
Centre to invest Rs 46,000 cr in NE power sector