Agartala, August 20 (TIWN): Insufficient gas is causing major hurdle in smooth functioning of North East Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) run 101 MW gas-based thermal project, said Power Minister Manik Dey.

Speaking to reporters at civil secretariat on Wednesday evening he stated that power generation has become uncertain due to irregular supply of gas, which would increase  the project cost and the charge of power per unit. According to report , the NEEPCO project is incurring a loss of Rs 3.5 crore per month.

He also informed  that on 20 August  he will attend the  North East power minster meeting  in Guwahati  to discuss transmission problems in the Northeast. The two-day meeting of the North Eastern Regional Power Committee will also discuss the problems being faced by distribution companies.  Power Ministers of the seven states and representatives of power sector PSUs, under the central government are the members of the NERPC.

Crying fould  about the  amendments in the Electricity Act- 2003, Dey stated that passing of legislation by the Parliament would clearly encroach upon the states jurisdiction on a concurrent subject. Moreover, poor people will not be able to buy power. He said   electricity is a concurrent subject, the states have the right to decide the structure of distribution system.

NEEPCO, a mini-ratna company under the union power ministry, has set up the Rs.9.5 billion (nearly $150 million) gas-based power plant in Monarchak.. The foundation stone of the Monarchak power project was laid during the previous National Democratic Alliance government in March 2002 and the Tripura government allotted the required land to NEEPCO in 2003.

By using the latest technology, the generation capacity of three existing power plants in Tripura will be augmented by around 70 MW without increasing fuel consumption.

To enhance the production capacity of two gas-based power plants and one hydel power project, NEEPCO in association with the Tripura government would invest Rs.500 crore.

NEEPCO would also increase the capacity of the Dambur hydel power plant, commissioned in 1974, from 8 MW to 15 MW.