Tripura aims for Rs 19.50 bn fresh investments in power

The Tripura government has embarked on a plan to bring fresh investments of nearly Rs 19.50 billion to ensure uninterrupted power supply in the state, besides upgrading infrastructure. Brijesh Pandey, secretary of the state power department, last week said the government has already brought investments worth Rs 20 billion crore in the last five years to strengthen the transmission and distribution system in the power sector, which has helped substantially reduce transmission loss. Pandey said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is implementing a project of Rs 11.50 billion to revamp the state's power sector infrastructure. At least 140 km of underground cables are targeted to be laid and as many as 1.2 lakh smart meters will be installed under the project. The power department has been ranked second among the north-eastern states in the integrated ratings of power distribution utilities and customer service ratings of distribution companies in the last financial year, the power secretary said, adding that the state government has been working on a mission mode to cover all the habitations and households in the power supply network. The state government has taken the initiative of setting up a 130 MW installed capacity floating power plant at Dumbur Lake in Dhalai district in collaboration with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). See also: Dependence on coal increases despite green energy pushGoa lays out ambitious plan for zero emissions by 2050