Banerjee: Upbeat

Calcutta, Feb. 1: The West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB) will invest Rs 200 crore to build the necessary infrastructure to distribute power at New Town in Rajarhat.

The board is gearing up to meet a 300-mw demand in the next three years, WBSEB chairman Moloy Dey, said at the inauguration of the first sub-station at New Town.

Going forward, the board plans to set up many more sub-stations keeping in mind the requirements of commercial as well as residential consumers.

New Town will house a large number of IT companies, which will need uninterrupted and quality power supply.

The station, inaugurated by Bengal power minister Mrinal Banerjee, was set up at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore.

Banerjee announced that many more stations would come up at New Town. The sub-station was built in the Action Area I. Similar stations will come up in Action Area II and III.

WBSEB and Hidco have joined hands to form a new company to distribute power at New Town. Both the entities own 50 per cent each in the company called the New Town Electric Supply Company.

This company will distribute power and take the meter readings.

Regarding the state-run power utilities in Bengal, the minister said their financial health has improved considerably.

“They are no longer dependent on the state exchequer to run operations,” he added.