Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami Meets Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami paid a courtesy call to Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in New Delhi. He congratulated Khattar on assuming the charge of Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs and Union Minister of Energy.
During the meeting, Chief Minister Dhami requested the approval of a permanent allocation of 500 MW additional power supply from central thermal plants to Uttarakhand. He explained that the state relies heavily on hydroelectric power, which accounts for more than 55% of its energy mix, while only 15% comes from coal-based plants. This reliance on hydroelectric power creates challenges, especially in winter when only 300-400 MW of energy is available.
Dhami noted that the construction of hydroelectric projects with a capacity of about 4800 MW is pending due to environmental reasons, leading to a growing gap between electricity demand and availability. He mentioned that the Central Electricity Authority’s Resource Adequacy Studies recommend obtaining 1200 MW additional electricity from coal-based thermal plants by 2027-28.
The Chief Minister emphasized the need to double the state’s economy in the next five years, which requires extensive infrastructure development. This includes investments in industrialization, tourism, agriculture, forestry, and education, all of which will increase electricity demand. Therefore, he requested the Union Minister to approve the additional 500 MW power supply to meet the state’s base load requirements and reduce the gap between demand and availability.
