With increasing energy demand in Kashmir particularly during winters, the power development department has enhanced electricity supply by over 15 percent this season.
Speaking to Greater Kashmir, Principal Secretary, power department, Rohit Kansal said: “In comparison to the last year, we are supplying over 15 percent more power this time.”
While maintaining that they were looking ahead to give uninterrupted power in the future, he said: “Currently on the directions of Lieutenant Governor, we have asked our staff to ensure that people are supplied power as per the announced curtailment schedule.”
Kansal said that in the coming months, the power supply position will further improve with augmentation of new grid stations and transmission lines.
He said that the supply enhancement was made possible through increase in transmission capacity and removing of other bottlenecks.
Kansal said: “Steps are afoot to upgrade capacity of Gopalpora grid, Mir Bazar transmission line and other projects to bring more efficiency.”
He said that all the officers of the department were working in coordination to provide more relief to the public by removing all constraints so that unrestricted demand of people was fulfilled.
According to official data gathered by Greater Kashmir, on an average Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited was supplying 278 lakh units of electricity per day (last year), which has now gone up to 328 lakh units. It means that the department is supplying nearly 50 lakh units more electricity this time around, as compared to the last year.
Chief Engineer, KPDCL, Transmission, Qazi Hashmat said: “Due to commissioning of Alasteng and Bandipora Grids, the supply has increased up to 327 lakh units a day which means an increase in supply by nearly 50 lakh units a day.”
Chief Engineer, KPDCL, Distribution, Ajaz Ahmad Dar said that “our supply has increased by over 15 percent but unfortunately the unrestricted demand has increased even more which is a cause of concern”.
“We have been time and again requesting people to use electricity judiciously which would ultimately lead to uninterrupted supply of electricity to consumers. But our unrestricted load is sometimes breaching 2400 megawatt while our system capacity is 1450 megawatt which forces us to issue curtailment schedules.”
It is pertinent to mention that hydropower generation in Jammu and Kashmir has drastically decreased to measly 408 megawatts due to ‘less precipitation’ thus making the Union Territory heavily dependent on outside power supplies to meet the demand.