The Union power ministry on Thursday said it has allocated additional power to Jammu and Kashmir to meet demand during the winter season.
In view of increase in the power requirement in Jammu and Kashmir, that happens normally during winter, the central government has allocated 74 per cent power i.E. 792 MW out of 1071 MW from the unallocated power pool of northern region, the ministry said in a statement.This will help the state in further meeting the additional requirement of power during the winter.
The power requirement in the state is met from generation from their own power plants, allocated share from central generating stations and power purchased from market.The peak demand of state during the current year (April to October, 2017) was 2,768 MW and the demand met was 2,214 MW, thus, leaving a shortfall of around 554 MW (i.E 20 per cent).
At present, around 70 per cent of the energy requirement is being met from central generating stations in the state, it said.
The allocation of power to J&K from central generating Stations (CGS) is 2,397 MW. The supply from CGS includes power stations of NTPC, NHPC, SJVNL, NPCIL, NLC, etc.
The move, if implemented properly with an imaginative schedule for power curtailment could bring huge respite to the Kashmiri population many of whom had again started getting restive after long power outages. Security agencies too had red flagged the worsening power schedule in the Valley as a cause for major concern.
The Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Governor N N Vohra too had conveyed to New Delhi that Valley was facing a huge power crisis especially in the wake of very little rains this year.
During his recent visit Centres point man on Kashmir Dineshwar Sharma was also told by many delegations about the worsening power situation in the Valley and sources say that Sharma told his bosses in New Delhi that power crisis redressal was one of the most important issues in terms of Governance in the state.
Days after Durbar move, the Power Development Department had said that Kashmir would be facing twenty one- hour power cut in metered areas in a week and forty two- hour cut in non- metered areas.Chief Engineer Power Development Department (PDD), Kashmir, Shahnaz Goni had told local news agency over phone that the new power curtailment had been put in place.
She said that metered areas have one hour each morning, day and evening cut daily. The non-metered areas have two hour power cut thrice in the day.
It won’t make much difference:PDD
Monitor News Bureau
Srinagar: As the Union power ministry allocated additional power to Jammu and Kashmir to meet demand during the winter season, the Jammu and Power Development Department said that it won’t have much impact on the current power scenario.
Chief Engineer, System and Operation Wing Kashmir Khurshid Ahmad Budoo while talking to The Kashmir Monitor over phone said, “I don’t think it will have much impact because our system has many more constituents, “he said.
However, Chief Engineer, PDD (M&RE) Shahnaz Goni said that if they have increased the allocation then we can get more energy. “But we have limited capacity so we can get only that much percentage. Rest we will see about it,” she said.
