Riyaz Bhat
Srinagar, Nov 6: With the onset of winter, the power demand in Kashmir division has increased by nearly 400 megawatts (MW) in the past month.
An official informed that over the past month, power demand has risen by nearly 400 MW in addition to the regular supply.
He said that in October, there was a requirement of 1,300–1,400 MW of power in Kashmir division. “However, as of now, there is a peak load of 1,698 MW and an average load of 1,264 MW in Kashmir division,” he added.
The official further said that, in the Jammu division, the peak load as of 6 November is 1,117 MW.
Pertinently, it was reported last month that, with the present and other planned Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) or a Transmission Service Agreement (TSA), Jammu and Kashmir are likely to be unable to meet and cater to the power demands of consumers over the next nine years.
A study in this regard by the Government of India (GoI) states, “The study has analysed the daily and monthly pattern of unserved energy in the year 2034–35. It can be seen that the contracted capacity (present and planned) is unable to meet the demand.”
“It can be observed that during the high-demand winter months, the proportion of unserved energy is high,” the study mentions.
The report also reveals that surplus capacity is available with states due to renewable energy availability, demand variation, etc.
Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Department (PDD) informed that it was imposing a curtailment of four hours in areas with the highest technical and commercial losses on local feeders.
The department said there were no power outages and no unscheduled cuts in the Kashmir valley during the last winter.
PDD Minister, in a recently concluded Legislative Assembly session, informed the House that “no unscheduled cuts were imposed in the Kashmir valley during the last winter, despite a substantial increase in power demand owing to heating loads, at a time when power availability from own generation sources remains limited”. (KNO)
