Darker times ahead for Kashmir PDD’s latest power curtailment schedule has 57 hour cut a week Situation may turn worse as gap between demand and supply mounts MUDDASIR ALI Srinagar, Nov 18: Already grappling with pestering power cuts amid biting cold, Kashmir is in for darker times ahead as Power Development Department (PDD) today came up with a revised curtailment plan. While strong resentment is already brewing among the people over the extended scheduled and unscheduled power cuts, the latest curtailment plan would see almost whole of Kashmir without electricity for around two and half days a week on an average in non-metered areas. The average per day curtailment has being extended to almost nine hours. Even the metered areas where the state government earlier promised to supply electricity round the clock, would witness cuts for almost three hours a day and 17 hours a week, on an average. A senior PDD official said given increase in the power demand against the load agreed to by customers, it was unlikely that the Department could stick to the existing schedule, and the curtailment, in coming days, may grow worse especially during the peak hours. Non-Metered Areas As per the schedule people would face power cuts from 5 am to 8 am twice a week. There would be 5-hour cut thrice a week from 8 am to 1 pm and another 5-hour cut from 1 pm to 6 pm four times a week. The woes don’t end there. Amid wintry conditions the electricity would remain off for four hours twice a week from 6 pm to 10 pm and there would be another seven hour curtailment during night once a week. Metered Areas Customers in metered areas would face 3-hour power cut from 5 am to 8 am once a week and a 5-hour each power cut from 8 am to 1 pm and 1 pm to 6 pm respectively once a week. Besides, there would be 2-hour power cut each from 6 pm to 8 pm and 8 pm to 10 pm respectively once a week. The PDD official said the revised schedule was already in vogue for some days on trial basis. Now it has been implemented in totality from today. He said against the agreed load of 560 MW the Department was already supplying 1100 MW to consumers in Kashmir. Last year the unrestricted power demand was 1300 during peak of the winter but it has already touched 1500 MW this year, he said. “The problem is that there is no end to misuse of the power. The situation can grow better if customers realize at individual levels that consuming more power than agreed to with the department was hurting the entire society,” he said. “You can’t predict the demand on given day due to the ruthless misuse of electricity.” The power woes returned to trouble people in Kashmir soon after J&K Government shifted the State capital from Srinagar to Jammu (Durbar move), as a biannual practice. Frequent Power cuts surface in Kashmir as an unwritten rule with the shifting of the Durbar and the phenomenon grows severe as winter sets in. Every year the State Government would repeat that less discharge in the water bodies of the State having rough potential of around 20000 MW, the high Transmission and Distribution losses (Over 60 percent), and injudicious consumption of energy by consumers were among the causes adding to peoples’ woes in the State. The Government, on the other hand, has been facing criticism for failing to develop the energy sector to end power problems. J&K’s power demand has grown to over 2400 MW against the local generation of 758 MW. The state government imports the electricity from the northern grid to meet the local demands.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 04:45:03 +0000
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