Announcing the setting up of a Pumped Storage Project (PSP) of 800 MW in the state, Tripura Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath has said that the project will be complete in a period of three years. It will become the first of its kind in the Northeast region, and the National Hydro Power Corporation of India (NHPC) will install the project after the previously installed 900 MW Bagmundi PSP in Purulia, West Bengal.
Addressing the 29th North Eastern Region Power Committee meeting at Guwahati on Friday, the Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath added that the NHPC would install this pumped power storage plant in Dhalai district.
According to him, the Pumped Storage Projects would be established in the state according to the Union Ministry of Power.
The Power Minister has also taken a central role in stopping an attempt to increase the gas price of the OTPC Palatana power project, which would have cost a financial burden to all the Northeast states. He was very much against it, and as a result, the proposal was rejected.
“If implemented, this would have imposed a huge financial burden on consumers not only in Tripura but across the entire northeastern region, as electricity is being supplied from the project in most of the northeastern states.”
“Due to my strong stance, the Northeastern Power Committee was compelled to reject the proposal, relieving not only Tripura but all the northeastern states of India from a huge financial burden.”
– Ratan Lal Nath, Tripura Power Minister.
Nath emphasized the clean energy initiative utilized by Tripura, where 45,000 solar streetlights have been installed, 4,900 solar pumps, 215 microgrids, and 26 MW of generation capacity in rooftop/off-grid solar projects.
The state will refurbish the Rokhia and Doombur power projects and increase their capacity by twice their current capacity with an MoU with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) worth Rs 2,275 crore.
The minister said they also plan to incorporate the use of battery energy storage systems with renewable energy sources, and this would mean that there will be power during peak hours using the excess power that is generated during the daytime and late hours when renewable energy sources do not need so much power.
“The Central Government has taken several landmark initiatives in the power sector. These reforms have transformed the sector with a focus on providing affordable electricity to all.”
– Ratan Lal Nath, Tripura Power Minister.
