Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said to ensure uninterrupted 24×7 power supply to the consumers even during heavy snowfall and adverse weather conditions in the capital town, Shimla, Rs 10 crore would be allocated for the same.

This amount will be utilised to lay underground power cables, from HP Secretariat to Central Telegraph Office, Shimla, said Chief Minister while presiding over the meeting of senior officers of the MPP and Power Department here on Thursday.

He asked the officers to ensure proper duct system while laying the underground cables and directed the officers to explore the possibilities for laying such cables in other parts of the state as well to facilitate the people.

Himachal Pradesh has been blessed with abundant water resources and the total potential of hydro power generation in the state has been estimated at 24,567 MW out of which 11,150 MW power has been harnessed so far through 172 projects.

He said the government was making earnest efforts to harness the remaining power potential by roping in private players as well as the public sector.

Harnessing the power potential was on the priority agenda of the present state government as it can play a vital role in making Himachal a self-reliant state, said Sukhu.

“The state government is promoting Himachal Pradesh as a green energy state and a target has been set for starting new solar energy projects with a capacity of 500 MW during the financial year 2023-24. Efforts are underway for establishing a solar power-based battery energy storage system in Pangi of Chamba district to strengthen the power supply in the area,” he said.

Sukhu said that the state government has decided to make two Panchayats in each district as the Green Panchayats on a pilot basis.

Solar power projects with capacity ranging from 500 KW to 1 MW will be set up in these Panchayats, he added.

The Chief Minister said that the state government has taken up the matter of enhancing the royalty in the power projects set up by Central Public Sector Undertakings at the appropriate platform and would continue to fight for its rights.