SRINAGAR: Chief Engineer Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) on Monday said they would announce the new power curtailment schedule for the coming winter in a week.
Chief Engineer Ajaz Ahmad said: “We did not curtail power this year till now. However, the load has increased. We are framing a power curtailment schedule which will be issued within one week.”
On chances of any improvement in power supply this year, he said the department will ensure sufficient power supply to the people.
He, however, said that it also depends on the people. “If they use electricity judiciously, then there will be an improvement in the power supply. We have to optimize things from available resources.”
The chief engineer believed that this year’s curtailment schedule will have a lot of respite for the Valley consumers. “Various reformatory measures have been taken by the power department in this regard,” he maintained.
However, people believe that the curtailment in metered areas are against the norms where the department is bound to provide round-the-clock power supply. “Over the years the Department has been violating its own schedule by resorting to unscheduled power cuts in metered areas,” said one of the residents of Bemina Srinagar.
He said that the extended power cuts surface soon after the Durbar (seat of governance) shifts to Jammu as a bi-annual practice.
It is to mention here that from the last two weeks KINS has received many complaints from almost all the districts of the valley including Srinagar city about the power curtailment.
One of the officials of the power development department said that they provide on an average 1300 MWs of electricity to consumers in Kashmir.
“During winters the demand reaches 1800 MW’s.,” the official said.
Another senior official said that if the consumers make judicious use of electricity, there is no need for long power curtailment in the coming months.
“We have seen that power thefts and use of heaters and boilers by the consumers cause the overloading. People should use electricity judiciously so there will be less curtailment,” the official said.
The Centre has been allotting additional 700 MWs of power to Jammu and Kashmir in view of higher demand in winters. But there has been no improvement in Union Territory as authorities have failed to augment the existing infrastructure to receive additional electricity from the central grids.
“Additional allocation of power will overcome power crisis only when the required infrastructure is in place. How will we handle additional power when there is no infrastructure available? There will be an improvement in power supply only when new girds are commissioned,” the official said.
