Agartala, Feb 8 (IANS) The state-owned North Eastern Electric Power Corp (NEEPCO) will add 870 MW of power to the electricity-starved northeastern region by 2012, a senior official said here Monday.

'We are executing three hydro-electric and one gas-based thermal power projects in Arunachal Pradesh (600 MW and 110 MW), Mizoram (60 MW) and Tripura (100 MW) and these projects would be completed in the next four years,' said NEEPCO chairman and managing director I.P. Barooah.

'Nine more hydro-electric and three more thermal power projects with a total generating capacity 5,775 MW are now various stages of investigation,' Barooah told reporters.

The corporation, which was set up in April 1976, currently has seven power stations in operation, totalling 1,130 MW, contributes around 50 percent of the region's installed capacity.

It has also signed two agreements with the Meghalaya government to execute an 85 MW hydro-electric and another 500 MW gas-based thermal power projects in East Garo Hills district.

'With the commissioning of the new power projects, the installed capacity of NEEPCO would be doubled in the next four years,' Barooah said.

According to the NEEPCO chief, northeast India has the potential to generate about 59,000 MW of hydropower. The region also has abundant resources of coal and oil and gas for thermal power generation.

'In spite of such huge potential, the region ranks lowest in the country in terms of per capita energy consumption. This has been mainly due to inhospitable climatic conditions, remote location and inaccessibility of geographical locations,' Barooah added.