GUWAHATI, July 30 - Assam, the most populous and second biggest State in the North-east, has a per capita power consumption of only 256 units per person in FY�2017 as compared to the national average of 900 units.
This, and many other relevant facets of the power scenario of the North-east were deliberated upon at the North East Energy Conclave organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) that concluded here on Friday. The summit made a strong pitch for ensuring power availability by harnessing the potential of renewable energy in the region.
It also stressed the need for streamlining the distribution and transmission system and implementing the �Hydrocarbon Vision of the North East.�
In her welcome remarks, Suparna Chatterjee, Deputy Director and Head of Energy initiatives of ICC, emphasised on the ICC�s role and focus on the Indian power and energy sector and added that ICC had been working actively on key issues impacting the sector through various initiatives and recommendations and successfully creating various interactive platforms between the Government and industry addressing important and relevant concerns.
The north-eastern States have a huge potential in terms of rich petroleum, hydro-power and solar but the States are facing the problem of shortage of electricity in generation and distribution which leads to unsatisfactory supply in some regions which in turn is affecting the region�s economic growth.
Ishantor Sobhapandit, Regional Director, ICC North-east, in his speech highlighted the current power and energy scenario of the nation and the North-east with statistical data.
Nitin Zamre, MD, ICF International, the knowledge partner for the event, provided the forum a snapshot of the power sector, resource assessment and the way forward. He also spoke of growth for private sector investment. While highlighting the challenges including the electrification levels and per capita energy consumption of the region, he said that Assam had a per capita consumption of only 256 units per person in FY�17 as compared to the national average of 900.
Zamre also mentioned peak and energy shortages coming down below five per cent in the last ten years which he said was a significant change.
Puru Gupta, MD, Assam Power Distribution Company Limited, in his address, said that while per capita dependence was increasing, that did not mean per capita consumption was also increasing. He highlighted APDCL�s achievement of selling 2 lakh LED�s as part of an MoU between the State and EESL.
According to him, a right mix of policy, execution and regulatory methods would bring about sustainable ways of consumption. The dependence on the sustainable forms of energy has to increase keeping in mind the environmental factors as well, he added.
Kalyani Baruah, MD, Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited, in speech, observed that the demand for electricity in the State was steadily growing, but still the demand for electricity in the State was very poor considering the demand in the rest of the country. She stressed the need for completing the hydro-electric projects at Barapani-I and Barapani-II to raise the generation level.
Satyajit Ganguly, MD, ONGC Tripura Power Company; Dipak Chakravarty, Member, AERC; EP Kharbhih, Commissioner and Secretary, Power Department, Government of Meghalaya; C. Kharkrang, Director � Transmission, Meghalaya Power Transmission Corporation Limited; B Paulchoudhury, DGM, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd; Chandramani Mangsatabam, Manager Commercial, Manipur State Power Distribution Company Limited; Dr Arup Kumar Mishra, Director, Assam Energy Development Agency; Dr Pankaj Kalita, Assistant Professor, Centre for Energy, IIT Guwahati, among others, also spoke.
