Riyaz Bhat
Srinagar, Apr 11: Amid surge in power demand, Jammu and Kashmir is likely to require additional 1862.53 Million Units (MUs) of power from the year 2026-27.
According to the official documents, the concerned authorities have projected that there will be a peak electrical requirement of 22,507 MU in the year 2026-27 with 3566 Megawatts peak electricity demand.
The documents further said that some intra-state transmission schemes are being planned to be implemented through Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) route by Jammu and Kashmir, Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) and Rajasthan.
In the meantime, the recent economic survey of the Jammu and Kashmir government reveals that from the fiscal 2020-21 to the year 2023-24, the power usage in the region had increased from 17,721.76 MU to 20,644.47 MU.
Recently, the government had said that Jammu and Kashmir had generated over 16,300 MUs of electricity from different hydel power projects in the year 2023–24.
As already reported, Jammu and Kashmir is likely to witness nearly 15 percent increase in peak power demand by the upcoming fiscal.
An official had said that till the ongoing fiscal, Jammu and Kashmir has touched a peak power demand of nearly 3000-3100 Megawatts (MW) of power.
The official documents in this regard states that the region was having actual peak power demand of 2675 MW till the year 2016-17.
However, after six years, the peak power demand in the year 2021-22 had increased by 401 MW. In this fiscal, Jammu and Kashmir was having an actual power demand of 3076 MW.
Earlier this news agency had reported that in the past nine years, Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed an average annual increase of 3.60 percent in electric power purchases while the growth stands at only 2.45 percent.
An official had said, “Over the past years from 2016-17 to 2024-25, Jammu and Kashmir has experienced an average annual increase of 3.60 percent in electric power purchases, as per extrapolated data.”
“When considered on a per capita basis, the growth rate stands at 2.45 percent per year, reflecting the region’s increasing energy demand. This growth is also in line with the region’s population increase, which has been growing at an annual rate of 2.14 percent during the same period,” the official had said. (KNO)
