SHILLONG : Meghalaya will not have scheduled load-shedding for the time being, Power Minister Metbah Lyngdoh said on Wednesday, while acknowledging that residents may continue to face temporary power interruptions in some areas.
Lyngdoh said the outages being reported in different parts of the state are mainly linked to maintenance work and faults affecting local power infrastructure.
Such interruptions, he said, should not be treated as scheduled load-shedding.Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) is carrying out maintenance at different locations, requiring power supply to be temporarily switched off in some areas while work is undertaken.
The minister said recent disruptions have also been linked to incidents such as trees falling on power lines, transformer faults and other technical problems. He said he regularly seeks reports from officials when complaints about power interruptions reach him.
According to the feedback received, most of the problems have been localised and technical rather than part of any planned statewide power-cut schedule.
The clarification comes as consumers in different parts of Meghalaya continue to report intermittent outages.
The government has previously maintained that Meghalaya has not faced scheduled load-shedding for more than two years.
The interruptions that occur from time to time are linked to maintenance, infrastructure faults and weather-related damage rather than a planned shortage of power supply
Consumers may still face temporary shutdowns when maintenance work or local faults require the supply to be switched off, he said.
Lyngdoh said the state’s overall power situation was currently under control. At the same time, the department and MeECL are reviewing future electricity demand and the state’s supply position.
Regular assessments, he said, are needed to identify growing requirements and make arrangements before demand puts pressure on the existing system.
“The state has also been undertaking work to strengthen its electricity network, including improvements to distribution infrastructure and projects aimed at increasing the reliability of supply”, he added.
