SRINAGAR: Unpaid electricity bills owed by commercial and industrial consumers, government departments and security force installations in Jammu and Kashmir have accumulated to Rs 6,870.15 crore, with government and semi-government departments accounting for the largest share at Rs 3,155.69 crore, according to figures placed before the Jammu Kashmir Assembly.
The figures were disclosed by the Power Development Department (PDD) in response to a starred question tabled by Hasnain Masoodi, seeking category-wise details of electricity arrears and measures being taken to recover the outstanding dues.
Of the total arrears, commercial consumers owe Rs 1,833.60 crore, while industrial consumers have outstanding dues of Rs 1,005.89 crore, according to the department’s reply. Security force installations account for another Rs 874.97 crore.
Together, government and semi-government departments and security force installations owe Rs 4,030.66 crore, or nearly three-fifths of the total arrears disclosed by the government.
The PDD said the distribution companies (DISCOMs) have been undertaking sustained recovery measures through systematic monitoring of arrears, issuing demand and payment notices to defaulting consumers, regular follow-up and disconnection of electricity supply in cases of persistent default.
The department said disconnection is an ongoing enforcement measure and is carried out by field formations after following the prescribed procedure. Electricity supply is restored after payment of the outstanding dues and completion of reconnection formalities.
The recovery drive has already resulted in 1,38,613 disconnections in the commercial, industrial and government/semi-government categories during 2025-26 and 2026-27, based on the figures supplied by the department.
In 2025-26, the DISCOMs disconnected 84,818 commercial connections, 3,167 industrial connections and 402 government/semi-government connections, taking the total to 88,387 connections.
During 2026-27, the corresponding figures stood at 48,283 commercial, 1,836 industrial and 107 government/semi-government connections, for a total of 50,226 disconnections, according to the reply.
The government said it intends to further intensify recovery from commercial, industrial and other high-value or defaulting consumers to augment revenue.
The DISCOMs are launching circle-wise special recovery drives and campaigns against high-value defaulters, while arrears are being monitored through management information systems and billing software, with recovery targets being fixed for field officers.
The department also said it would enforce the disconnection and reconnection policy more strictly against consumers who fail to pay their bills.
For habitual defaulters, the government said legal remedies would also be used, including recovery of outstanding electricity dues as arrears of land revenue.
The government was also asked whether it was considering an amnesty scheme to waive electricity bill arrears for Below Poverty Line (BPL) consumers.
The response was categorical: “There is no such proposal under the consideration of the Government.”
The figures highlight the scale of the revenue-recovery challenge confronting J&K’s power distribution system, with outstanding dues spread across both private consumers and major public-sector and security establishments.
