Arunachal Pradesh Faces Power Crisis

Generator used by Alice School and surrounding community

The state of Arunachal Pradesh has been facing a power crisis for the past two and a half months, as reported by Zee News. The demand for power far exceeds the grid’s capacity, which can provide up to 84 Megawatts.  However, the supply often fluctuates between 34 Megawatts and 84 Megawatts during peak hours, compared with a peak hour demand of 130 Megawatts. The ever-increasing demand can be attributed to small and medium development and infrastructural projects being implemented all over the state.

A solution to the problem is apparent in the many rivers that traverse the state; Arunachal Pradesh has an estimated capacity of 58,000 Megawatts of hydropower. Despite the huge opportunity, only micro hydropower projects are currently generating power to meet localized needs. With many rivers drying up, larger hydropower projects are stunted even before they are implemented.

Thus, attention must be given to environmental preservation, as well as alternative energy sources, to ensure that Arunachal Pradesh can keep up with growing power demands, especially in rural areas.

The village of Boddishata Deban, where Friends of Humanity’s partner, the Alice School is located, is plagued by power cuts and shortages of electricity. In an effort to stem the problem, the school has purchased a generator for community use, which has helped to mitigate the problem, in addition to ensuring the school and adjoining hostel have a reliable power supply.

While small community efforts have success in fulfilling local needs, a larger plan of action is needed to ensure power capacity meets demand across the growing state of Arunachal Pradesh.

To learn more about the Alice School and its impact in the community, click here.