Bengal to invest Rs 4,000 cr to develop power infrastructure

The West Bengal Government has taken up a plan to revamp the state's power infrastructure at an investment of Rs 4,000 crore over the next two years, state Power Minister Manish Gupta said today.
The department of Power and Non-Conventional Energy Sources is drawing up a draft document on Grid-connencted Rooftop Solar Policy, which would be extended throughout the state in a phased manner, the minister told the Assembly.
The rooftop solar photovoltaic policy for the state was likely to be announced very shortly after former approval of the state cabinet, Gupta said.
The West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency already took up a project for installation of 10 kWp rooftop grid connected PV power plant with net metering arrangement at 100 government and government-aided schools statewide with 100 per cent funding from the state budget, he said.

The project would be extended to 500 schools altogether in phases, the minister said replying to a supplementary.
Gupta furhter said that the WBREDA was also implementing an off-grid school electrification programme for another 100 schools in the Sundarbans.

Steps have also been taken to upgrade various low voltage area into high votage ones, the minister said.
Gupta said that in the last four years the power sector had witnessed imrovement, thanks to several development schemes undertaken by his department.
The distribution infrastructure of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited had much improved in the last four years with the installation of 82 new 33/11KV sub-stations, besides HT line and Distribution Transformers (DTRs) etc, he said.

Starting from non-conventional energy resources, the state has already taken many projects to boost rural electrification and hydro-electric power generation programmes, the minister said.