Additional power only solution

The power demand has increased to a large extent in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in the Valley after the mercury has plummeted in wake of the early onset of winter, but the people have been facing unscheduled power cuts for a long time now, which remained a hot topic and led to the criticism from political parties as well as the netizens as well. However, the government in the last few days has paced up its measures in this regard to meet the power demand during winters as additional 793 MWs have been procured by the government in Jammu and Kashmir in the last few days, which according to the administration is set to improve the electricity scenario in the Valley. A few days ago, the Administrative Council (AC) led by Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, gave its approval for purchase of additional energy of 500 MW of firm power from the Ministry of Power (MOP) to meet Base Load power requirement of the Union Territory. The AC assents for allocation of additional 500 MW of firm power from MOP in B(v) mode(procurement being done by PFC)to meet Base Load power requirement essentially required to meet the winter demand. The availability in winter reduces due to the high proportion of hydropower in the UT. In order to bridge this gap between demand and availability of power during winter months AC approved signing of a fresh Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) by J&K Power Corporation Limited (JKPCL) with NTPC regarding Singrauli-III run by NTPC. Meanwhile, the Government of India (GoI) has increased power allocation to J&K by about 293 MW, by transferring power from distant power houses in West Bengal, Bihar and even Bhutan. Such measures at the prevailing situation will surely help the administration in meeting the power demand in the winters. The decision is a welcome move, but the government needs to ensure that the power theft at this juncture is put to an immediate end so that the motive behind procuring the additional electricity will be achieved.