Srinagar- Earlier last week, Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) announced that the Kashmir Valley will face heightened power curtailment due to limited power availability. According to KPDCL, the increased curtailment measures are unavoidable until power availability improves in the region.
The corporation asked consumers to bear with the situation and ensure judicious use of power especially in peak hours.
“Due to limited power availability, there has been an unavoidable increase in power curtailment. These restrictions will be eased once power availability improves,” KPDCL in a post on X said.
“Please bear with us & ensure judicious use of power, especially during peak hours. Avoid exceeding sanctioned load/hooking,” the corporation added.
The announcement came as a shocker for people from across Kashmir who raised concerns about the power schedules.
“Adding the extra curtailment to the existing power schedule will be a mockery of the power availability,” locals said.
“The power supply is already at the worst level and adding more curtailment will be nothing but a mockery of the power availability and to the people,” they said.
Previously, Kashmir’s power woes were seasonal, confined to winters and peak summers. This year, however, outages have gripped the valley since November 2023, exacerbating the existing crisis.
An official from the KPDCL told Kashmir Observer that there is a deficit of over 1000 MW of electricity. He said there is demand of around 2000-2200 Megawatts of power but the department is able to produce only 1000 MW only.
At present, unmetered regions in Kashmir undergo scheduled power outages lasting 8 hours in urban areas and 10 hours in rural areas. In contrast, 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, as the peak demand increases, the department failed to provide the adequate power supply-thus more power curtailments.
Sources from the Power Development Department told Kashmir Observer that the power was purchased for the few months of the winter when the peak demand was high.
“Since the temperature is still low due to rainfall, the demand continues to increase in spring as well,” the official said.
On April 25th, four electricity towers and a receiving station were also damaged following the sinking of land in Ramban district. The incident damaged the power transmission line that comes from the Northern grid to the Kashmir valley. However, the electricity was restored shortly through a new transmission line via the Mughal Road.
Amid the power crises, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has reportedly reviewed the power scenario in Jammu and Kashmir and has directed the Power Development Department to provide monthly updates on five key achievable points related to the power sector.
The official from the KPDCL maintained that the power crises in the region will end once the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) is completely through.
“Through RDSS scheme, we are implementing the Smart Metering Project and more than 50 percent of the population in J&K has been covered so far,” the official said, adding, “once the project is completed in 2026, the power crises will be over.”
Another official of KPDCL said the scheme aims to reduce Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses. The losses, according to him, are the highest among all states and Union Territories (UTs) in the country.
He further maintained that the department is running in losses and the government has made it clear that they don’t want to be in further losses.
“That’s why the department is not able to purchase additional power supply,” he added.
The official hinted that the power crises will continue till 2026.
Meanwhile, KPDCL Chief Engineer (Distribution) Sandeep Seth had said that the distribution company was bound to distribute the only power which they get from the government.
“I don’t know the reason for the extra curtailment. However, we will continue to distribute the amount of power we have available,” he said.
The top official of the Power Development Department (PDD) said that the power generation is the same. “As of now, the power generation from local resources remains the same,” the official said.
The power cuts have also sparked concerns among stakeholders in the tourism sector, particularly houseboat owners and hoteliers, who say they are grappling with the adverse effects on their services to visitors.
Manzoor Ahmad Pakhtoon, President of the Kashmir Houseboat Association, while expressing concern over the power cuts said that it was adversely impacting their business as they are unable to provide satisfactory services to tourists staying at the houseboats.
“Enhanced power curtailment is affecting us badly, even our electricity backup is not getting charged. And we cannot rely on the use of gensets every time, as that involves a lot of expenditure,” he told a news agency.
Tariq Ghani, Secretary General of the J&K hoteliers Club, also slammed the authorities for not providing the adequate power supply. “We have to rely on gensets which inflict huge expenditure. This is going beyond our limits,” Ghani said.
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