The third meeting of Committee constituted by the Central Government for formulation of a roadmap envisaging 24×7 power supply in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh regions was held here today under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary Industries UP Government, Alok Kumar.
The Committee has been assigned with the responsibility ofpreparing a prospective power plan for UTs of J&K and Ladakh taking intoconsideration the adequacies and inadequacies in different sectors to realizethe target of round-the-clock power supply to all the consumers.
Secretary, Power Development Department, M Raju; CEO, REC, RLakshmanan; Managing Director, JKPDCLK, Mohammad Aijaz, representatives fromTata Power and PWC Delhi and other concerned attended the meeting.
Secretary PDD presented a detailed stock of restricted andunrestricted demand being met in Jammu and Kashmir regions as per the availableinfrastructure and resources. He informed the meeting that the department hasundertaken several infrastructure development works under various CentrallySponsored Schemes which are expected to be completed by the end of this yearthus improving the power scenario to a great extent.
M Raju said the department has also worked out therequirement to fill the infrastructure gap for providing 24×7 power supply toconsumers in all districts of J&K for which the detailed project reports inboth distribution and transmission sectors have been formulated and forwardedfor financial assistance.
The Committee was also informed that the Corporations formedafter unbundling of the power sector have been made fully functional fromFebruary 2020 by formation of respective BoDs.
It was informed that the JKPDCL has drawn up a roadmap forsystematic capacity addition by harnessing large hydel potential which isanticipated to make J&K energy surplus by 2025. This would be possible withthe development of 22 SHPs/Mega Hydel projects, which will also help inachieving the RPO targets set by the Government of India.
The Committee also held detailed discussion with the ChiefEngineers and the representatives of PGCIL regarding the development of interand intra-J&K transmission systems. The progress of the ongoingtransmission projects was also reviewed.
Under the distribution sector, it was informed thatinstallation of smart meters has already been started in Jammu and Srinagarcities, which will be further extended to all the consumers of J&K withinnext two years. This will not only facilitate proper energy accounting but willalso enhance consumer satisfaction.
The Committee stressed upon the PDD officers to intensifytheir enforcement activities so that the losses in the power sector could beminimized.