Developing the North-East's untapped hydro power potential could help the country achieve a better fuel mix. It could also be a saviour in times of problems in power generation due to fuel shortages, as was the case recently, the Union Minister of State for Power, Mr K.C Venugopal, said.
He was addressing a meeting of the Consultative Committee of Members of Parliament for Ministry of Power in Shillong last week.
Calling for concerted efforts from all quarters in tapping the region's power potential, Mr Venugopal said the North-East has rich coal and gas reserves. Meghalaya has good coal reserves while Tripura and Assam have natural gas reserves.
On the work done by North-Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), the Minister said so far it had set up seven power stations with a total installed capacity of 1130 MW, contributing to about 50 per cent of the total installed capacity.
He said the four projects being executed by NEEPCO were expected to be commissioned during the 12th Plan period. The Corporation was also taking up the extension of the open cycle 84 MW Agartala Gas Turbine Project by converting it to a combined cycle plant which will enhance the capacity of the plant by another 46 MW totaling 130 MW, a Power Ministry release said.