Arunachal govt invests Rs 4,788 crore to ensure reliable power supply

Itanagar, Aug 27 (IANS) The Arunachal Pradesh government has invested Rs 4,788 crore for the Scheme for Strengthening Transmission & Distribution System (SSTDS) to ensure reliable power supply to every corner of the state, Chief Minister Pema Khandu said on Wednesday.

Highlighting Arunachal Pradesh’s efficient electricity supply system, the Chief Minister took to the social media platform X, writing, “Lighting up every corner, transforming Arunachal.” He said that till May this year, 60 per cent progress of the SSTDS has been achieved.

According to the Chief Minister’s post, so far, 11 electric substations of different capacities (220 kV and 132/33 kV) have been set up to connect the 16 districts through electric transmission lines.

The northeastern state, which shares 1,817 km of international borders with China, Myanmar, and Bhutan, and inter-state borders with Assam and Nagaland, has 28 districts.

Khandu said that over 2,000 km of 220/132 kV transmission lines and over 4,000 km of 33 kV transmission lines have already been erected for the smooth supply of electricity in both semi-urban and rural areas.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister earlier had said that with 56,000 megawatts of hydro power potential, Arunachal Pradesh is emerging as the hydropower capital of India.

Highlighting Arunachal Pradesh’s huge power potential and its transformative role in economic development and community welfare, the Chief Minister in a post on his X account had said: “With 56,000 megawatts of hydro potential, Arunachal is rising, not only as the hydro capital of India, but as a beacon of how natural beauty and modern progress can walk hand in hand.”

Sharing details of several mega hydro power projects, he said that the 600 MW Kameng hydroelectric project in West Kameng district has already been completed. The power project was commissioned by the state-owned North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO).

The Chief Minister said that the 2,000 MW generation capacity Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project is nearing commissioning. The Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project is located on the Subansiri River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, on the border of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

The project is being developed by another government-owned company National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), a Mini Ratna category government enterprise. It is a run-of-the-river project with a concrete gravity dam and a surface powerhouse housing eight 250 MW Francis turbines.

Khandu, in his earlier post, had said that the 2,880 MW Dibang Multipurpose Hydropower Project is set to become India’s largest hydro power project in the Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the 2,880 MW Dibang Multipurpose Hydropower Project, being commissioned by the NHPC, at a Viksit Bharat Viksit North East Program in Itanagar on March 9, 2024.

The Chief Minister had said that 13 new power projects with a total generation capacity of 15,000 MW are on the way in the next three years.

“With the commissioning of these several power projects, free power worth Rs 4,171 crore would be supplied back to the state, and in view of the setting up of these power plants, Rs 735 crore would be invested directly into the welfare and development of the local communities. The state government would get Rs 1,884 crore dividends annually, after the commissioning of these power projects, strengthening our economy,” Khandu had said in his post on X.

He added that this is not just about power generation, it’s about powering people’s lives.

--IANS

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