April 26, New Delhi Union Power Minister Manohar Lal said on Saturday that the northeastern states should endeavor to provide energy security and make an effort to efficiently use the hydropower potential, particularly pumped storage, in the area.

According to a Ministry of Power statement, the minister emphasized the significance of a modern, financially viable, and future-ready power sector in his speech at the “Regional Conference of the Power Sector” in Gangtok, Sikkim, to support the nation’s development as it moves toward becoming a developed one.

He emphasized the significance of electricity in accomplishing the objective of “Viksit Bharat,” and he said that the regional conference will assist in identifying particular issues and answers pertaining to the northeastern states’ power sector.

The minister said that efforts must be made to satisfy future needs even if there is a small 0.1% shortfall in meeting current electricity requirements.

Power production has expanded dramatically since 2014, and it is necessary to promote many forms of generation, such as thermal, hydro, atomic, and renewable energy, he said.

According to Manohar Lal, reaching the goal of Net Zero Emissions requires addressing environmental issues and switching to non-fossil electricity.

He said that issues in the distribution sector are being resolved and excluded families are being electrified via government programs like RDSS and PM-JANMAN.

The minister emphasized that inadequate tariff structures, subpar billing and collection, and late payments of government department dues and subsidies are the main causes of difficulties facing the distribution industry.

To make the distribution industry profitable, it is essential to lower AT&C losses and the difference between average revenue realized and average cost of supply. Cost-reflective tariffs are necessary to do that, according to Manohar Lal.

Prem Singh Tamang-Golay, the chief minister of Sikkim, outlined the state’s major initiatives to raise the quality and dependability of the electricity supply. Along with highlighting the suggested strategy to further improve the electricity sector, he asked the central government to intervene on a number of state-related concerns.