Owais Gul
Srinagar, Nov 23: With the government vowing to improve the electricity scenario in the valley, the authorities here have claimed that the demand in the non-metered areas of Kashmir have increased eight times more than the areas where smart meters have been introduced.
The officials while divulging the details said that there has been an abrupt increase in the demand of electricity in wake of the early winter conditions.
“The demand at present has increased to 1900 Megawatts, but at the same time, the in-house power generation is too low,” the officials said.
At this juncture, the public response is quote contrary as the overloading has turned out a major reason behind the unscheduled power cuts here, which is a cause of concern for one and all, the officials said, adding that the consumers who have been connected with the smart meters have been acting responsibly as the demand amidst the prevailing winter conditions has increased by just over one per cent.
The officials, however, stated that in the non-metered areas where the flat rate continues, the demand has increased 8 times more than the metered areas, which shows how the public in these areas are resorting to the excessive use of electricity, which needs to be curbed.
When asked about the accelerating night inspections, the official said that the complaints of illegal hooking in the metered areas was being received from different areas, thus the department has decided to act tough against the power theft to combat hooking.
Pertinently, Kashmir has been grappling with worst-ever power crisis while the government had claimed that the situation will be improved as a panel has already been constituted by the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta with regard to the procurement of additional electricity to meet the power demand.
