About Rs 27,000 Crore Invested In WB Power Sector In Last 11 Years: State Power Minister
The state government has invested a substantial amount of Rs 27,000 crore in the power sector since 2011. These funds were allocated to enhance the generation, transmission, and distribution capabilities, said West Bengal's Power Minister, Arup Biswas.
Biswas further stated that additional investments are planned in the coming years to raise the total power capacity from the existing 9,521 MW to 13,689 MW. This increase will encompass thermal, solar, and hydel capacities.
The minister assured reporters that West Bengal currently possesses adequate power supply to meet the demand. He attributed the recent power cuts to disruptions in the distribution networks caused by storms, as well as unauthorised consumption of electricity by some retail consumers. Despite these challenges, the state successfully fulfilled the highest recorded demand on 8 June of this year.
Biswas made these statements in response to allegations by Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition, who claimed that the power cuts had caused the collapse of the sector in the state. Biswas clarified that the state had discontinued the operation of one thermal power unit each at the Kolaghat and Bandel plants due to regulatory compliance.
However, the government has established new thermal capacities totalling 1,250 MW over the past 11 years. Moreover, ongoing projects include the construction of a 660 MW supercritical power plant in Sagardighi, Murshidabad.
Apart from generation, the Mamata Banerjee government has also focused on developing transmission and distribution infrastructure in its two terms since 2011, as highlighted by Biswas.
The state government has ambitious plans to establish a solar capacity of 1,760 MW, generate 1,000 MW through the Turga Pumped storage power plant, and import 230 MW from Bhutan and 118 MW from the Teesta hydel projects.
According to Biswas, the number of subscribers has significantly increased under the current government, rising from 80 lakh during the previous Left Front regime to 2.33 crore today. Consequently, the demand for power has surged from 4,085 MW to 9,200 MW.
