Meghalaya will add another 40 megawatts of power to its pool with the inauguration of New Umtru Hydel Electric Project.
Chief minister Mukul Sangma will inaugurate the 40 MW hydro project at Dehal, Byrnihat in Ri-Bhoi district on Thursday.
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The foundation stone for the project was laid in 2007 by the then Chief Minister DD Lapang.
The commissioning of the power project will somehow cut down the state’s demand for power.
At present, Meghalaya has only two power projects both hydro – 186 MW Umiam Hydro Electric Project Stage-I and the Myntdu-Leshka Hydro Electric Project (3×42 MW).
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The Umiam Hydro Electric Project Stage I was conceived in the 1950s to harness the power potential of the Umiew-Umiam-Khri-Umtrew basin development basins.
Construction of the project was formally inaugurated by the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru on January 9, 1960 and the first unit of the project was commissioned on November 9, 1965.
The then President of India, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan formally inaugurated the project on March 1, 1966.
The Myntdu-Leshka Hydro Electric Project that was conceptualised in 1975-76 by the then Meghalaya State Electricity Board (MeSEB) now Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL)
The project got the administrative approval of the MeECL in 2002, and on the same year, the foundation stone was laid by the then President APJ Abdul Kalam.
The first of the three units of the project was inaugurated by the current chief minister, Mukul Sangma on February 29, 2012.