Persistent power cuts across West Khasi Hills district in Meghalaya have driven state Minister Methodius Dkhar to intervene, convening an official review meeting to pinpoint the root causes of recurrent interruptions and establish practical measures to upgrade electrical services. The discussions followed widespread dissatisfaction and ongoing public grievances concerning unreliable energy delivery in several localities.
Administrative Coordination Across Multiple Departments
The review session, conducted on September 23 in the presence of West Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Hema Nayak, expanded beyond conventional power distribution to address renewable energy and district sanitation priorities. Key representatives from the Meghalaya Energy Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL), the Meghalaya Non-Conventional and Renewable Energy Development Agency (MNREDA), and the Swachh Bharat mission participated in the discussions to align district-level administrative efforts.
Infrastructure Modernisation Under the RDSS Initiative
Dkhar, who represents the Mawshynrut assembly constituency, explained that the primary aim was to understand the ground-level challenges encountered by the utility departments and swiftly resolve the bottlenecks hampering consumer power flow. Power utility officials informed the meeting that systematic upgrades are already underway. However, technical works being carried out under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), which involve overhauling transmission lines and reinforcing electrical networks in several rural settlements, have caused temporary power shutdowns in selected pockets.
Progress Across Both Phases and Appeal for Public Patience
Reviewing the scheme's execution timeline, Dkhar confirmed that RDSS Phase-I is currently in active implementation, while preparatory and initial works for Phase-II have likewise commenced. The minister clarified that brief service disruptions might persist intermittently until the modernization drive concludes. Urging community patience, Dkhar asked local residents to cooperate with utility technicians while upgrades continue, while pressing departmental engineers to deploy every viable operational measure to guarantee stable, uninterrupted electricity across West Khasi Hills.
