The power ministry wants to put government-owned North East Electric Power Corp (Neepco) into the job of implementing 150-mw Lower Kopili project despite the objection of the Assam state government.
Union minister of power for state Jairam Ramesh said Neepco being a Shillong-based company should get orders from the northeastern states for its survival. Meanwhile, Assam power minister Pradyut Bordoloi said Neepco does not have the efficiency for speedy implementation of power projects, which is much required for the northeast, especially Assam .
The northeastern states have blamed lack of investment for the power shortage.
Ramesh said he met Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and power minister Pradyut Bordoloi on September 15 to convince that Neepco should implement the lower Kopili hydel project, instead of a private company, since it has already implemented the project in upper Kopili. ?But the Assam government is against Neepco doing the job because it was sitting on the lower Kopili project for more than 10 years now and the Assam government was looking for an efficient contractor to do it,? Ramesh said.
He said public sector power companies should be placed advantageously in the country?s power capacity to ensure standardisation of technology and prevention of the inflow of low-quality foreign technology into the Indian power sector. He told FE that although the Assam government is rigid on its stand to prevent Neepco from getting the lower Kopili job, the state might soon sign a joint venture agreement with the company for implementing a 500 mw thermal power project in Margherita.
Although, both Centre and the state governments aim at finalising the JV by October 15, confusion remain in terms of power sharing.
Ramesh said the Assam government wanted that the entire generation, after the project?s first phase (250mw) of implementation was distributed within the state but the maximum the Union government can allow to be distributed within the state is 200mw.