MARGAO
Clarifying that the government will effect a hike in the power tariff only after providing 24 hours power supply to consumers, Power Minister Nilesh Cabral on Saturday sought additional time to present the white paper on Goa’s power scenario and how to make available 24-hour power supply to the people of the State.
Cabral further said he is working on the PPP as well as a joint venture model to develop the power infrastructure before increasing the power tariff. He said the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission for Goa (JERC) has been after the government to go for a tariff hike, but asserted that the government has given a commitment not to effect a hike in tariff, but to bear the difference in the rates.
Interacting with the media on the sidelines of the opening of Anusha’s boutique at Pajifond, the Power Minister said that people of Goa, including both domestic and commercial consumers, will not mind paying extra 10-20 paisa if they receive 24-hour power supply. He, however, hastened to add that people will have to sacrifice since providing 24-hour power supply will depend on development of the power infrastructure, including power towers, to get power from outside the state to the power stations.
Saying that Goa is almost 100 per cent electrified, Cabral said the task before the government is now to provide 24-hour power supply to the consumers. “I will focus on the development of infrastructure. You will not believe there are underground cables laid in Margao around 7-8 years ago, but which have not been commissioned till date. I do not want to be engaged in blame game, but the fact remains that these underground cables await commissioning for the last seven years. At Porvorim, a cable laid to the Assembly complex has not been commissioned since the last seven years,” Cabral said, adding that he would give utmost priority to commission the cables within the next two months.
Saying that he had promised the people a white paper on power scenario within 45 days, Cabral said he has completed 30 days so far, but hastened to add that it may take some more days to present the same. “After taking over office and looking at the scenario, I will definitely require some more days to present the paper and also come out with a road map for making available 24x7 power supply.”
