Srinagar- Despite the persistent power challenges plaguing Kashmir amidst the cold weather, officials from the Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited (KPDCL) have stated that they are unable to procure additional power supply from the Centre.
An official from the KPDCL told Kashmir Observer that the additional power that the department had purchased from the center during the Chilla-i-Kalan is over and they aren’t in a position to purchase more electricity.
“The department is running in huge losses. We were expecting that the peak load / demand will be over before March but it’s not happening,” the official said, wishing not to be named.
He further said that they purchased additional power supply for a few months and are unable to afford more.
Notably, the KPDCL last week announced that they are going to revise its Load Curtailment Program and appealed to the consumers to use the electricity judiciously.
“Dear Consumers: To ensure minimum distress cuts, #KPDCL is revising its Load Curtailment Program, till the power availability position improves. Pl bear wd us & ensure judicious use of power, especially during peak hours. Avoid exceeding sanctioned load/hooking,” KPDCL posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Pertinent to mention here, the people are experiencing unending power cuts from the last two weeks and the situation has worsened in many areas including the summer capital-Srinagar.
“There is a deficit of over 700-800 MW of electricity,” the official said, adding the demand of the electricity in the Valley is 2000-2200 Megawatts but the department is able to produce only 1300 MW.
The official said that the department has now realized that providing less power will help them to save money.
“The department purchases power at Rs 7/ unit but gets only Rs 3/unit in return, so you can imagine the losses,” he said.
At present, unmetered regions in Kashmir undergo scheduled power outages lasting 8 hours in urban areas and 10 hours in rural areas, while metered areas experience cuts of approximately 4.5 hours.
Notably,in December last year the Power ministry allocated an additional 1972 MW of electricity for union territory to tackle the power crises. However, with the increasing peak demand, the department has struggled to provide sufficient power supply, resulting in more power curtailments.”
Consumers say that ahead of Ramadan, the department should take immediate measures to streamline the power issues in the valley.
“The government claimed that the power crises will be over once the smart metering is done. Now most of the people even pay electricity fee, still the crisis looms large,” said Bilal Ahmad, a resident of Karan Nagar Srinagar, adding, “The department should take necessary steps to ensure uninterrupted power supply during the holy month of Ramadan.”
Kashmir Observer tried to reach the Managing Director of KPDCL, as well as the Principal Secretary, J&K PDD for comments, but both were unable to receive the calls.
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