Fed up with power crisis, Pangi residents urge govt to upgrade infra

Residents of Pangi valley have urged the government to upgrade the power supply infrastructure as the area that remains cut off during the snow season is experiencing frequent power blackouts even before the onset of winter.

Power outages frequent

• Out of the total installed capacity of 1,400 kW, four mini-micro power projects in the valley are producing 650 kW electricity.
• The Sural project has two turbines, but one is non-functional.

When the winter season begins, the power supply in the valley is badly affected making locals work harder to complete their daily tasks.

The Pangwal Ekta Manch, a tribal community forum, has called on the local administration to take up the issue with the state government and find a lasting solution to the problem. Forum chairman Trilok Thakur says that earlier this year, the work on three 1 MW solar power plants at Dhanwas and two smaller 500 kW plants at Hilaur and Dharwas was scheduled to begin. These plants could have partially solved the power outage problem during the coming winter season.

He says, “However, no civil works have commenced on the ground. With the working season set to end by October 15, it is unlikely that there will be any progress in the work to set up solar plants.” He adds, “The case for repair and augmentation estimates for mini and micro power plants in Sural, Killar, Sach and Purthi has been sent by the local electricity board to the Shimla office for approval. Unfortunately, no budget allocations have been made for these works.”

The power supply situation in the valley can be gauged from the fact that out of the total installed capacity of 1,400 kW, four mini-micro power projects in the valley are only producing 650 kW electricity.

The projects located at Sural (100 kW), Killar (300 kW), Sach (900 kW) and Purthi (100 kW) serve a population of 25,000 in Pangi. The Sural project has two turbines, one of them non-functional. Similarly, the Killar project has two turbines and Sach and Purthi projects have one turbine each are also out of order. The shortfall of 750 kW results in frequent power outages throughout the valley, causing significant hardships to residents. The situation has aggravated due to bureaucratic delays in the approval of funds for essential upgrades and maintenance. In 2023, despite submitting detailed estimates of Rs 7 crore for improving machinery, equipment, tools, plants (METP) and the civil infrastructure, funds were not released.

The stalled progress of the proposed solar power projects under the Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) has further complicated the situation. These include a 400 kW project each at Hillour and Dharwas and 1 MW project at Karyas. Despite various announcements over the years, these projects remain in limbo due to the red tape, worsening the region’s energy crisis.

Pangi is entirely without grid power, leaving its 25,000 residents across 55 revenue villages dependent on an unreliable electricity source. This situation not only degrades residents’ quality of life, but also hampers socio-economic development. Thakur says that an 11 kVA power line is being laid from Tindi to Shour at a cost of Rs 2.84 crore. However, the project was expected to take 18 months to complete while the work season in the valley officially ends in mid-October, he added.