Shillong: As power demand continues to surge, the Meghalaya government is set to enhance its electricity infrastructure with the expansion and upgradation of substations in Shillong and Tura. Power Minister AT Mondal stated, “We are going for expansion and upgradation of substations because the demand is increasing every day. Accordingly, we have decided that NEHU and Mawlai substations will be upgraded. Two new substations will also be coming up to take the load of Shillong city.”
The minister highlighted that a similar situation exists in Tura, where peak-hour electricity demand has reached 20 megawatts. “This requires more substations, either new ones or upgraded ones. We have moved to the government to provide us with land because there are some readily available plots, and we have requested the government to allocate them,” Mondal said.
One of the planned substations will be established within the Sericulture Office campus in Tura. The government has also decided to ensure dedicated power supply to all civil hospitals, beginning with Shillong and Tura. “On a pilot basis, we are taking up Shillong and Tura civil hospitals, so that in case of any outages, we can provide uninterrupted power supply to these hospitals,” he stated.
For Tura Civil Hospital, a 33/11 kV substation with two 5 MVA transformers will be set up at the Sericulture Office campus. Additionally, two more substations will be developed—one opposite the Dhanakgre BSF camp and another on MTC land in Dakopgre. “The government has agreed to give these three plots of land, and with these three substations coming up in Tura, the load factor will be managed efficiently, ensuring no excess burden on existing substations,” Mondal affirmed.