DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government has finally given its nod for setting up small hydropower projects in the state to overcome its power crisis. Uttarakhand is currently spending big money to buy power from other states to meet its domestic and industrial electricity consumption needs.
“There is a lot of potential for small hydropower projects, up to 25 MW, to come up in the state,” Energy Secretary R. Meenakshi Sundaram told this newspaper. “We are preparing a policy for electricity generation through small projects and employment to youth for the same in villages,” Sundaram said, adding that the state government is studying the policy of Himachal Pradesh too.
“In Uttarakhand, which is already facing power shortage, this policy is going to open avenues for new entrepreneurs to set up power projects with minimum formalities. The policy is being formulated in such a way that apart from power generation on the banks of rivers of small villages, these will provide employment to the local residents. The government is planning big reliefs on the lines of Himachal Pradesh for setting up power projects to 25 MW,” he added.
The state government’s plan has been prompted by a spurt in power demand, which reached 60 million units a day as compared to 35-40 million units available daily from the central and state pools. The rest of the electricity has to be purchased from the market at a higher price.
“The state government had made a policy in 2015 for small hydropower projects up to 2MW,” Sundaram said. “But due to strict rules, few entrepreneurs showed interest. Prior to this, the government had formed a panel that recommended concessions for small projects on the lines of Himachal,” he added.