Srinagar, June 12: The Power Development Department (PDD) has set July 9 deadline for consumers to disclose their load under Voluntary Load Disclosure Scheme (VLDS). If consumers fail to do so by then they could face huge penalties, officials say.
Talking to Greater Kashmir Commissioner Secretary PDD Sudhanshu Pandey said that once the consumers come clear on the load they consume it would help the department to devise the system as per the load. “Many transformers burn due to overloading as at present we don’t know the exact requirement of the consumers,” he said.
Pandey claimed the VLDS would benefit the consumers and it would help the department to provide uninterrupted power supply in the metered areas. “Consumers should come forward and disclose the load,” he said. The Commissioner Secretary dispelled the notion that if consumers disclose the load they would have to bear extra burden and shed more money. “They (consumers) won’t be charged any extra fee for disclosing the load,” he added.
Asked if consumers don’t disclose the load by the deadline set by the department, he said that PDD has constituted special squads which would visit all the areas of the state and penalty would be imposed on the people who fail to disclose the load. “Once the PDD comes to know about the exact requirement of power in the area complaints about low voltage will be taken care of and we will be able to calculate the exact transmission and distribution losses.”
Referring to the hike in power tariff during the past few months, Pandey said, “People consume more electricity and pay less. Government purchases electricity at much higher rates than it supplies to consumers. Revenue collection is much lower than the bills we pay.”
He claimed despite hike in power tariff people get electricity at subsidized rates. “Our power bill last year was Rs 3600 crore while we collected only Rs 1200 crore from the consumers,” he said.
Pandey revealed that there are eight lakh illegal connections in the state. “We have succeeded in taking care of the illegal connections to some extent but still lot needs to be done,” he added.
The Commissioner Secretary claimed that during the past few months department has collected Rs 2 crore as fine from the people indulging in power theft. “Power theft is a non-bailable offence and a person indulging in theft can end up in a jail. We are trying our best to create awareness among the masses but people also need to realize their responsibilities,” he added.
Asked why the weekly load-shedding program started in winter is still on, he said, “People should allow us to complete metering and cooperate with us for taking reformatory steps then only we will be able to deliver.”
The Chief Engineer PDD Muzaffar Ahmed Matoo said that most power thefts in the Valley are reported in the domestic sector. “Nearly 70 percent thefts are reported in domestic sector. “ Despite our repeated attempts we have not been able to stop people from indulging in power thefts,” he claimed.
Pertinently, the PDD has been under fire for not keeping up its promise of providing uninterrupted power supply in the metered areas and for increasing the power tariff manifolds.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 12 Jun 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 12 Jun 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:00:00 IST