Shinde dedicates new power sub-station at Binaguri

Binaguri, West Bengal, May 30 (UNI) Union Power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde today dedicated Power Grid Corporation's new 400/220 KV power sub-station here, which has links to New Delhi for supplying excess electricity to the national capital.

Binaguri's power grid in Jalpaiguri district, about 12 km from Siliguri town, receives 6X170 MW electricity from Tala Hydro Electric power and 360-MW Chuka Hydel power station, both in Bhutan, and 3x170 MW from Teesta Hydel Electricity in Sikkim and another 2000 MW from medium and small power generating centres of North Eastern States.

After formally inaugurating the new unit which had been built at a cost of Rs 1500 crore, Mr Shinde said it would be able to supply the excess power to New Delhi after distributing electricity locally to the region's requirment.

He said that many ongoing power generation projects, which were taken up in various parts of the country, were going on in a right direction and hoped that another 1.25 lakh villages would be electrified by 2009.

Mr Shinde also lauded the Chief Ministers of different states for their efforts to augment power generation to bridge the gap between demands and supplies.

He said his ministry was also contemplating to tie up with the Nepal government for joint venture in two or three new schemes in the Himalayan nation, in the near future.

UNI