the goan I network
PANAJI
Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar has promised to reduce the number of power cuts through the implementation of a ring system to connect substations to each other, which he said will eliminate the possibility of Goa’s power supply being at the mercy of factors that are outside the control of the state.
Addressing a press conference, Madkaikar who was keen to highlight the achievements of the power department over the past one year, said that while it was his mission to provide uninterrupted power supply to the state, often power failures are caused by factors at the region of supply either Maharashtra or Karnataka and there was nothing his department could do to avoid such situations.
“To avoid such a situation I plan to implement a ring system to connect each substation, so if there is a failure in Karnataka, which supplies to the South, we can automatically switch over to another supply line from the North and vice versa. Earlier this was not possible because the substations were not connected,” Madkaikar said.
He said that the new Kadamba and Saligao substations which are underway would be the substations that link the North and the South to ensure a continuous supply.
Madkaikar also listed the areas which would play host to new power connections including Tuem and Mandrem in Pernem, Sal in Bicholim, Carraswado in Mapusa, Badem, Saligao, Kadamba, Dharbandora as well as a revamped substation at Ponda.
The power minister also said that Goa’s peak hour demand goes up to 600 MW on certain days of the year forcing the government to buy power from the open market energy exchange which comes at a high cost.
“In order to avoid this, we have secured an additional 50MW at the general rate through the good offices of the Chief Minister. In addition to that we intend to procure an additional 100 MW of power from non-conventional sources like that of wind and solar,” Madkaikar said.
In addition, the Government intends to produce its own solar energy (10 MW in total) while buying solar power from private producers through the notified solar policy, Madkaikar informed.
Madkaikar claimed that he has put in order several pending issues including that of bills being delivered after several months, power theft and that the department was earlier “totally neglected” and hence could not function as it should.
“I have taken time to understand the department, how it functions and what its requirements are which has allowed me to complete so much work within one year,” Madkaikar said.
