Riyaz Bhat
Srinagar, Nov 30: Jammu and Kashmir is all set to receive 293 Megawatt (MW) of power supply from the centre from Friday (December 1).
Principal Secretary Power Development Department H. Rahesh Prasad said, “Central government has allocated 293 MW more power to Jammu and Kashmir government.”
He said the supply will be received from December-01. “This is in addition to the recently purchased 500 MW agreement.”
“I think power supply is sufficient now and our focus shall be on revenue collection,” Prasad said.
Meanwhile, a JKPDD spokesman in a statement said that the Government of India (GoI) has increased power allocation to J&K by about 293 MW, round the clock, by transferring power from distant power houses in West Bengal, Bihar and even Bhutan.
The spokesman, while highlighting the concerns raised in recent news items being published, reiterated that a persistent issue contributing to these interruptions is the non-disclosure of actual electric load by consumers.
Regarding the hours of power supply to consumers, the official said that smart metering is under implementation in a mission mode and the focus is on ensuring uninterrupted and regular power supply in areas saturated with smart meters, while also curbing losses.
“In areas without smart metering, the department is sustaining the same number of power supply hours as maintained during the previous year,” it reads.
The JKPDD statement further said that there is a curtailment schedule in effect which is diligently being published to prevent any inconvenience to the public.
According to the JKPDD official, numerous crude heaters which have been banned by the department were recovered by the enforcement squads of KPDCL in the recently conducted inspection drives.
“In the last seven days, inspection teams of KPDCL have conducted 7585 number of inspections in different districts of Kashmir region and imposed a fine of Rs.68 Lakhs on the defaulters,” it reads.
Regarding new power allocations made on Nov-30 by GoI to J&K, it was informed that Jammu and Kashmir, being primarily dependent on hydroelectric power, faces significant fall in generation during winters due to low water level in rivers.
“Consequently, around 85 percent of power supply during winters is sourced from Thermal Plants to compensate for the deficit during winters,” it reads.
It however further said that the UT was making every effort to ensure sustainable and firm power availability throughout the year.
“In this direction, during the current financial year, the UT has entered into historic Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for 1600 MW of Solar power , 900 MW from Hydro, and an additional 500 MW from thermal plants, currently in progress following the decision of the UT Administrative Council under the Shakti Policy,” it reads.
