by Babra Wani
SRINAGAR: Days after inclement weather conditions, as Kashmir started witnessing mercury soar, people are facing music as the load shedding is implemented in the traditional winter style. For the past week, people in Srinagar and most parts of Kashmir are complaining about frequent power cuts.
These untimely power cuts have resulted in chaos, confusion, and anger among the masses.
Saima, a resident of Hawal, Srinagar, stated that there was a wedding at their place, but frequent power cuts interrupted the functions a lot. “We could not even hear the Nikkah Khutba; there was so much noise from the generator. Even at the time of the arrival of the baraat, the electricity suddenly went off, and it was embarrassing because we had no backup at the time,” she said.
Another resident from the outskirts of Srinagar raised another important issue. “These frequent power cuts have made our lives miserable. I mean, inverters are down, our Wi-Fi does not work since it requires power, and most importantly, since the inverter is down, our electronic gadgets are down, and that interrupts our work to a large extent,” he said. He also highlighted how the frequent power cuts can result in health hazards. “Just like we saw in the Soura case, where the power cut resulted in the death of a man due to disrupted oxygen supply, now just tell me for heaven’s sake, what if someone else dies too? Who will be responsible? I have my mother living off on oxygen supply. What if something bad happens to her? Who will I hold accountable?” he questioned.
A KPDCL official stated that the availability of electricity in present times is very less, resulting in “curtailment.” He said that the overall power availability has been reduced. “Ultimately, power needs to be purchased; it is a commodity. If we talk about the present times, our corporation is buying less electricity, and that is why we are cutting down on electricity,” he said.
Regarding the supply, he said that compared to 2022, the electricity supply this year was higher. “Despite the curtailment, we are supplying more than 15 per cent electricity compared to last year. In the months of April and May, the supply was 12 to 15 per cent more this year, and as of June 2023, the supply is 25% more compared to last year,” he added.
He also mentioned that Kashmir currently requires roughly around 1450 megawatts, but only 1100 to 1200 megawatts are supplied. “We are short on 200 to 300 megawatts,” he said, adding that the claim that smart meters have resulted in increased curtailments is baseless. “People have this confusion that smart meters are one of the reasons, but it is not so. If smart meters are installed widely, it can result in a decrease in curtailment.”
The official also stated that nothing can be said at present about how long the power cuts will last. “The authorities lack resources and are not able to buy sufficient electricity supply, so we cannot say anything about the future discourse,” he said.
As the mercury is going to soar further, the power tensions are increasing. Kashmir is witnessing massive tourist footfalls and this is adding to the load on the limited supply.
