Meghalaya power minister James PK Sangma said ways and means are being taken to avoid regulation of power by NEEPCO and to avoid loadshedding in the state.
NEEPCO has already informed that power supply will be regulated from midnight of March 20 as the Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL) has not been able to pay the pending dues worth Rs 504.41 crore.
NEEPCO has already written to the North Eastern Regional Load Despatch Centre to regulate the power supply.
Meghalaya is drawing power around 147.53 MW from NEEPCO.
Meanwhile, the Union power ministry has written a letter to the Meghalaya power department asking the MePDCL to request the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to disburse the remaining instalments to NEEPCO.
The REC and PFC had disbursed only Rs 386.86 crore to NEEPCO as the first instalment in the first tranche of the loan availed by the MePDCL under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan from the REC and PFC.
The MePDCL is availing a loan of Rs 1,345.72 under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan for clearing outstanding dues to various Central generating companies for drawing power. from those power companies.
“We are finding ways and means to avoid the regulation of power by paying the remaining instalments to NEEPCO of the current outstanding dues,” James K Sangma said.
He said the state would avail the loan under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan from the REC and PFC.
According to the minister, the time for disbursement of the remaining instalments to NEEPCO is March 31, and not March 15.
“The time is given up to March 31, but maybe, they are mentioning it from the point of view of the financial year-end, and paper works are needed to be done,” the power minister said.