Mizoram clears dues to NEEPCO; averts blackout during Christmas
In order to avert acute shortage of power during Christmas, the Mizoram government, on Thursday, cleared pending power bills of Rs 16.4 crore to North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO), after the Corporation’s alleged threat to cut power supply in Mizoram from December 10 onwards, and during Christmas festivities in the state.
The state power and electricity department officials stated that the payment was made on Thursday, through a banking transaction. “They threatened us due to lack of balance of accounts in the letter of credit. We pay the dues constantly,” they stated.
The officials further mentioned how the department had to keep the payment ready all the time through a letter of credit, as per the agreement with the NEEPCO, adding that consumers in the state paid their electricity bills to the power department on time.
Officials of the department also said, “Power tariffs kept on increasing frequently and the tariff paid by the public could not cover the costs for the purchase of power from energy-generating companies.”
Earlier, news surfaced on how NEEPCO took the decision to manage the power supply in Mizoram, following the unexpected delay in payment of the dues by the Power and Electricity Department of the state.
In October, the Corporation wrote a letter to the executive director of Northeast Regional Load Dispatch Centre (NERLDC), stating that the unpaid dues over 45 days have together risen to Rs 15.78 crores, till October 25, adding, how the amount kept on escalating.
Notably, the NEEPCO constructed and ran the 60 MW Tuirial Hydro Electric Power project inside Mizoram–12% was given free of cost to the state government, and the remaining purchases by the state, as per the agreement between both parties.
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