India's north eastern region grapples with 11.6% power deficit

The Working Group has sought the formulation of a separate power policy for India's North-Eastern Region, whose 7 states continue to suffer from massive power deficits. 

A peak deficit of 11.6% was faced by the region during April-August 2011. The states of Meghalaya and Mizoram exceeded this figure by 6.3% and 1.4%, respectively.

On the other hand, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Manipur were in a relatively comfortable position, with much lesser gap between peak availability and requirement. The state of Arunachal Pradesh had the minimum deficit at merely 1 MW out of the total deficit of 222 MW for the NER.

With respect to the energy supplies, the area witnessed a deficit of 10.7%, with a total energy shortage of 454 million units. Meghalaya suffered the most on this account, with a 24.3% energy deficit, contrasted with Assam, where the same figured came out to be 5.4%.