Bhubaneswar: Special attention is being given to develop power infrastructure in the State to ensure quality power to the people, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Monday.
Inaugurating high capacity grid substations in 4 districts of the state, built at a cost of Rs 254 crore, he said keeping this in mind, the state government is giving special attention to the development of power transmission and distribution infrastructure in the state. Secretary to CM V K Pandian moderated the program.
The places where the new grids have been set up are Hinjilikatu in Ganjam district, Kalimela in Malkangari, Birmaharajpur in Subarnapur and Godisahi and Bahugram in Cuttack district. This will benefit 2 lakh people of these 4 districts.
Addressing the audience through video conferencing, the Chief Minister said that there is a need for good and uninterrupted electricity in all sectors of agriculture, industry and general life.
“Power is important to all of us. Hence do not waste it unnecessarily,” he urged the people.
Notably, a strong infrastructure has been developed in the field of power transmission in the state.
At present there are 185 Extra High Voltage Grid Sub-Stations in the state, while there is a network of 16,000 circuit kilometers.
Energy Minister Pratap Keshari Deb said that due to the vision of the Chief Minister, Odisha has become a surplus state in electricity.
“The Chief Minister’s efforts to promote industrialization and employment in the state by improving the power distribution system of Odisha are succeeding,” Shri Deb said.
On this occasion, Odisha Coal and Power Limited gave Rs 20 crore to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
The Chief Minister lauded the efforts to make this organization profitable during a very short period of time.
The Chief Minister said that during the first six months of 2022-23, OCPL has made a profit of Rs 626 crore and achieved a 60 percent increase in coal production.
Berhampur MP Chandrashekhar Sahu, Nabarangpur MP Ramesh Chandra Majhi, Birmaharajpur MLA Padmanab Behera and Banki MLA Deviranjan Tripathi participated in the program through video conferencing.
They complimented the Chief Minister for his efforts in the development of electricity and industrialization in the state.
Secretary to the Chief Minister, VK Pandian conducted the program.
Additional Chief Secretary Energy Nikunj Bihari Dhal, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra and senior officials of Energy Department were present in the programme.
