Srinagar – The National Conference-led coalition government Saturday delivered a power shock to the consumers even as they are grappling with the trauma of drastic cap on the subsidized cooking gas. The decision to enforce a heavy dose of power curtailment comes at a time when the dreadful winter is about a couple of months away to subject the peoples patience to the seasonal ordeal.
According to the power curtailment schedule issued by Power Development Department and effective from today, power supply to all the non-metered areas in Kashmir, urban as well as rural, would remain cut off in different groups and phases for an aggregate of 56 hours or one third of a week.
Sources in the PDD said there would be a 3-hour morning cut from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. twice a week; a 4-hour evening cut from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. twice a week; a 5-hour day cut in two groups from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily; and a 7-hour overnight cut from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. once a week. During the day cut, 43 per cent load would be taken off in two groups, they said.
In addition to the scheduled curtailment announced today, sources said, the PDD would be free to enforce distress cuts as and when it becomes necessary to reduce the load as per the energy release from the Northern Region Load Dispatch Centre (NRLDC), which calls the shots for power supply in the north.
However, all the essential services and undisclosed VIP connections have been exempted from any load shedding. The metered areas, though subject to the unscheduled distress shedding, have been spared of the scheduled curtailment for now.
Sources said the minister of state for Power, Shabbir Ahmad Khan, convened a high-level meeting with senior PDD officials today to review the overall scenario in the valley in the backdrop of the load shedding program announced today.(
Observer News Service)
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