The Centrally-funded North-Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERPSIP) has made significant progress in the first four months (April to July) of FY25.
NERPSIP is a major Centrally-sponsored power T&D upgrade programme covering the northeast states, except Arunachal Pradesh.
During the April-July period of FY25, a total of five packages were completed, leaving eight packages to be commissioned for NERSIP to see full fruition. The five packages commissioned in FY25 so far, belong to Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
Significantly, during the April-July period of FY25, NERSIP was fully commissioned in Assam and Mizoram. With Meghalaya achieving full completion in FY24, NERSIP stands completed with respect to the three aforementioned states.
NERSIP is eight packages away from full completion, and these are located in Manipur (1), Nagaland (2) and Tripura (5).
With a total of 446 elements, NERSIP was originally supposed to commission in December 2018 but is now expected to do so by December 2024.
The overall project involves building of 3,222 ckm of lines – 1,827 ckm (transmission) and 1,395 ckm (distribution). It also entails creating 5,848.64 MVA of transformation capacity through 118 new substations and capacity augmentation at 134 existing ones. NERSIP covers T&D infrastructure across the voltages – 220kV, 132kV, 66kV and 33kV.
Unfinished elements
The lone unfinished package in Manipur is the new 132/33kV substation at Tamenglong, which was originally scheduled to commission in June 2020 but was stymied by law and order-related issues. However, as the latest report, the project has made significant progress with respect to land acquisition (100 per complete), receipt of equipment (98 per cent) and erection of equipment (85 per cent). The substation is expected to commission by September 2024.
In Tripura, three new substations, one transmission line and one transmission line reconductoring project are yet unfinished. All these five packages are expected to commission by September 2024.
In Nagaland, the new 132kV Tuensang substation augmentation continues to face impediments and is expected to commission by December 2024, signifying the comprehensive completion of NERSIP. The only other unfinished element in Nagaland is the new 132/33kV substation at Pfutsero that is now expected to be completed by end-August 2024 albeit with a delay of over four years.
Arunachal Pradesh
The lone state to be out of NERPSIP’s purview is Arunachal Pradesh but it is part of another Centrally-funded scheme called “Comprehensive Scheme of Transmission & Distribution System in Arunachal Pradesh & Sikkim.”
Overview of NERSIP
NERPSIP was approved by the Union government in December 2014 with Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) nominated as the implementing agency. The sanctioned cost was Rs.5,111.33 crore (at February 2014 level) was revised to Rs.6,700 crore in December 2020. NERPSIP is being funded on 50:50 basis by Government of India and World Bank. The project aims at strengthening the power T&D infrastructure in six northeastern states – Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura – across 220kV, 132kV, 66kV and 33kV voltage levels.
As of July 31, 2024, a total of Rs.4,925.09 crore was spent on NERPSIP, the highest (at Rs.1,335.57 crore) being in Assam, followed by Rs.1,278.31 crore in Tripura.
Featured photograph (source: Meghalaya Energy Corporation Ltd) is for representation only.
