MARGAO
Power Minister Ramkrishna alias Sudin Dhavalikar has said that since Goa is not independent in power generation, the State is bound to follow the directions of the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) on the question of power tariff hike.
He said the State government will go by the ruling of the Supreme Court on the Tamnar Power project.
He also stated that the Electricity department will lay stress on underground cabling and the replacement of mega power transformers to minimize power fluctuations.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a programme at the Hari Mandir temple at Margao on Wednesday, Dhavalikar said: “Goa is not independent in power generation, but is dependent on others to meet its power requirements. Hence, the State has to go as per the directions of the JERC. The proposal for a power tariff hike was pending for the last six months. We have brought the new tariff into effect, which works out to a minimum of 10 paise and a maximum of 40 paise”.
Saying that the Electricity department under him will be strict against illegal power connections, Dhavalikar said that he has started the process of releasing new power connections.
“Around 4,500 power connections have been pending in the State. I am happy to announce that we have cleared around 3,500 connections, including three-phase connections”, he said, adding that the balance of three-phase connections will be released after the procurement of the meters.
“The file has gone to the Finance department and it will release the three-phase connections after the procurement of the meters”, he added.
On the Tamnar project, the Minister said the State government has accepted the Supreme Court's decision on the project, saying the line will be taken along the old Supa line in Karnataka.
Pointing out there are many old power transformers which have been in operation for the last 25 years, Dhavalikar said these transformers have outlived their utility and need replacement.
The Power Minister further said that the department has proposed to take up underground cabling, set up new power stations and replace the ageing power transformers.
Dhavalikar gave a clean chit to his immediate predecessor Nilesh Cabral, saying the former Power Minister has done good work in the department. He, however, hastened to add that the former Power Ministers did not do much in the department.
