CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG: Meghalaya’s promise of universal electrification remains elusive, with more than 345 villages and scattered hamlets—housing over 52,000 households—still living without reliable power. Despite successive schemes, the latest internal assessment by the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) has revealed that large swathes of the rural state remain either completely unelectrified or only partially connected to the grid.
To bridge this gap, MeECL has set an ambitious target: achieve 100% electrification by December 2026. Tendering for the project is expected to be completed within a month, after which an 18-month execution phase will begin under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).
A senior MeECL official acknowledged that shifting demographics and Meghalaya’s hilly terrain have complicated electrification drives. Villages often expand or split into new settlements—such as “Upper” and “Lower” or “A” and “B”—leaving many households beyond the reach of previous schemes.
The official explained that the RDSS will be rolled out in two phases: loss reduction and household coverage. “We intend to cover roughly 52,000 households across 345 villages and hamlets that remain unelectrified or partially electrified,” he said.
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