Srinagar- The Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses in Jammu and Kashmir have reached 4500 crore per year, even as administration is taking several measures to ensure adequate power supply throughout the year, particularly during the harsh winters, a senior officer said Friday.
Principal Secretary of Power Development Department (PDD) H Rajesh Prasad told Kashmir Observer Friday that over 11 lakh smart metres have been installed by the department in the Union Territory so far and the remaining will be covered in the coming two years.
“This move will lead to less load shedding, curb power theft and streamline electricity billing and poor collection,” he said.
Stating that the AT&C losses was around Rs 4500 crore per annum, Prasad said that over 50 % people in Jammu and Kashmir are paying power bills on a flat rate system.
“This is the highest in any state. And for this reason, installation of Smart Meters is necessary in the UT to contain losses,” he said.
The second biggest reason for the AT&C losses, Principal Secretary PDD said, is the massive pilferage and wastage of the power including hooking and other means. The third, according to Prasad, is the “technical losses” in the UT.
“The entire distribution system is pretty old and there wasn’t proper investment on the infrastructure for many years. The system is outdated but from the last five years a good amount of money has been spent on the infra,” he added.
On the present power crisis, Prasad said around 250 MW of electricity has been purchased from the UP government on banking bases.
“We will return them water during the summer season,” he said.
We have also taken-up the matter with the central government and the winter allocation quota has been granted,” Prasad told Kashmir Observer.
He further said that currently the UT has over 1900 MW of electricity and that is almost close to what it was last year.
Notably, the Valley is witnessing unscheduled power cuts from the last few weeks forcing people to hit the streets.
Prasad further said that the government is implementing a scheme called Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) in the UT for which GOI has already sanctioned Rs 12000 crore out of which Rs 5000 crore have been sanctioned.
“It is going to be utilized for the upgradation of the infrastructure, especially in distribution and installation of smart meters and the replacement of old conductors in new ones,” he added.
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