Tripura secures 4th Rank in power distribution
Agartala: Tripura has secured the fourth position in the country for power distribution, supplying electricity for 23 hours and 49 minutes daily, Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath said on Tuesday.
The Minister added that villages receive power for 23 hours and 43 minutes, while cities get 23 hours and 59 minutes. “Before our government, the state used to get around 21 hours of electricity. For the last seven and a half years, the Power Department has worked to provide uninterrupted and quality power to the people of Tripura,” Nath said, citing the National Feeder Monitoring System (NFMS) report.
He made the remarks after attending the bhumi pujan ceremony of the Rukhiya 120 MW Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Project in Sepahijala district.The gas-based thermal power plant was originally set up in six phases between 1990 and 2006 with nine Open Cycle Gas Turbine units. The first six units, each with 8 MW capacity, have been abandoned. The remaining three units, each of 21 MW, currently generate only 19 MW due to insufficient gas supply.
“With financial support from the Asian Development Bank, the 63 MW open cycle plant will be upgraded to a 120 MW combined cycle gas turbine. This will increase efficiency from 35–45 percent to 60 percent by using hot gas to drive a steam turbine. The project will cost Rs 1,320 crore and is expected to be completed within three years,” Nath said.
The Minister also highlighted that 13,435 km of Aerial Bunched Cable (AB Cable) has been installed to prevent power theft in rural areas, up from just 198 km previously. Under the PM-JANMAN project, 11,692 PVTG (Reang) households have been electrified, and under the DA-JGUA project, 2,285 tribal families have received electricity connections, with 5,392 more to be added.
Nath said Tripura is exploring an 800 MW pumped storage project at Chawmanu in Dhalai district with NHPC, which would be the first of its kind in the Northeast and boost the state’s economic growth.
He added that 46.49 percent of consumers now pay their monthly electricity bills, up from 42.28 percent, indicating gradual improvement in collections.