Aizawl: Mizoram power and electricity minister R Lalzirliana on Wednesday said that the state has the potential of generating 4,000 Megawatt hydroelectricity.
The minister along with officials of the power and electricity department called on state Governor Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati and they discussed initiatives to raise power generation in the state, an official statement said.
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During an interaction with the governor, Lalzirliana informed him that the state generates about 10 MW of electric power through various power dams across the state, which is far below the state’s requirements, the statement said.
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The minister said that the state at present consumes 144 MW per day and most of its requirements are met with power purchased from outside the state.
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Lalzirliana said that the state governments both in the past and present could not take up major hydroelectricity projects due to financial constraints, the statement said.
According to the minister, two mini-hydel projects that will generate 24 MW of power each are in the pipeline.
He also hinted at the possibilities of exploring the options of getting collaborations with the central public sector units for construction of bigger hydel projects on River Tuivai(210 MW), River Mat – Sekawi(76 MW) and other major rivers.
Kambhampati appreciated the efforts made by the power and electricity department to augment the state’s power generation, the official statement said.
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He, however, insisted that more work is needed to be done to harness more power to meet the increasing demand.
He suggested the department formulate plans for collaboration with Central Public Sector units to construct major hydel projects in the state, it said.
The governor further suggested the construction of small capacity solar plants near the existing power sub-stations to supplement the existing power supply, it said.
He also urged the department to ramp up its awareness campaign among its customers for the viability of solar rooftop installations, the statement added.