Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, RK Mathur met Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy (P&NRE), RK Singh on July 3  and raised several issues related to the development of the power sector in Ladakh.

LG Mathur discussed provision of importing about 70MW power for Ladakh for the upcoming winter months; intervention in the clearance of Right of Way (RoW) issues and clearance from Wildlife, Forest and Defence for the construction of the 220 kV Nubra-Zanskar transmission line; review of Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with NHPC Ltd projects of 45 MW Nimoo-Basgo and 44 MW Chutak Hydro-Electric Power (HEP); intervention in settling the land matter, expediting the survey and other studies work for the 10 GW solar project at Pang; approval of 66 kV transmission line for Changthang under Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS); intervention in the establishment of State Load Dispatch Centre for Ladakh by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), etc.

He also raised the need for extension and implementation of Rooftop Solar Programme in Ladakh, including considering the launch date of the scheme from current financial year 2022-23 and nominating Ladakh Renewable Development Agency (LREDA) and Kargil Renewable Agency Development Agency (KREDA) as the State Nodal Agencies (SNAs) of Ladakh for implementing Phase-II grid-connected Rooftop Solar Programme in the region, etc.

LG Mathur also requested for sanctioning of 10 MW capacity target of Component-A of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme for Ladakh; sanctioning of 2000 solar pumps instead of the already sanctioned 600 standalone solar pumps under PM-KUSUM Component-B due to demand from the public, nominating KREDA as the SNA for Kargil district for the implementation of the scheme and extension of the completion time period till October 2023 to achieve the target; sanctioning of balance funds and extension of the time period for the completion of small hydro projects by LREDA; intervention in releasing of the pending Rs 1 crore from MNRE to KREDA for the capacity-building programme of the Ladakh Renewable Energy Initiative (LREI) scheme, etc.