Srinagar, September 29: Kashmir is now struggling with a huge electrical crisis as it confronts constant load shedding. This is the consequence of a massive disparity between the demand for electricity and the supply of electricity, which amounts to an astounding 300 megawatts (MW).
Officials of Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited (KPDCL) have cited two primary factors that have contributed to the worsening of this situation. First, a drought-like situation in Jammu and Kashmir has led to reduced water discharges in the River Jhelum and the River Chenab, which has affected hydropower generation. Second, the government has decreased its purchases of power from outside power generation companies (Gencos).
According to a senior KPDCL official, “At the moment, our demand for electricity stands at approximately 1300 MW, whereas we are only able to supply around 1000 MW.” We have been forced to apply power cuts over all of Kashmir as a result of the shocking disparity of 300 megawatts (MW) between the amount of energy that is demanded and that which is supplied in Kashmir.
According to him, the Jhelum and the Chenab rivers are very important for hydropower projects in the area; however, the reduced amount of water flow has led to a decline in the amount of energy that is generated from these sources.
According to the senior official, “as we get closer to the winter season, it is expected that the deficit will worsen, and we will need to increase our power purchases in order to meet the rising demand for electricity.” “During the most recent winter season, the peak demand for electricity in Kashmir skyrocketed to an astounding 1800 MW, indicating the pressing need for a more robust and sustainable solution to our power woes.”
The citizens of Kashmir are voicing their irritation and discontentment with the region’s regular power outages, which have been going on for quite some time.
Ironically, the electricity situation in Kashmir has worsened this year despite the installation of smart metres in all of the homes and businesses there. Suhaib Ahmad of Srinagar stated, “We experienced power cuts even during the summer months, and as winter approaches, if the situation doesn’t improve, we can anticipate prolonged load shedding, which undermines the administration’s claims.” Suhaib Ahmad is referring to the fact that power disruptions occurred even during the summer months.
In an interview with Greater Kashmir, the Chief Engineer of the KPDCL, Javaid Yousuf Dar, said that there has been an increase in the number of power outages in Kashmir as a result of decreased energy production brought on by decreasing water levels in the region’s rivers, which are mostly the result of inadequate rainfall.
“As a result of the colder weather, people are using more electronic gadgets, which has led to an increase in the demand for power. We are working on obtaining electricity from other areas to remedy this issue, and we anticipate that there will be an improvement in the power supply within the next two days,” he stated.
According to the authorities, there is a difference of around 3400 crore rupees on an annual basis between the income received from customers and the cost of electricity purchases.
In addition, Jammu and Kashmir’s aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) power losses continue to be more than 50 percent, making them the highest among all of India’s states and Union Territories (UTs), which has a considerable negative impact on the state’s budget.
AT&C losses at the J&K Power Department are now hovering at 50 percent, which is much higher than the average loss throughout the country of 19.73 percent, which can be seen elsewhere in the country.
According to an official statement released by the government of J&K, this significant loss margin between power purchase costs and revenue collection can be primarily attributed to technical losses. These technical losses include transformation losses at various stages and elevated losses on distribution lines due to inherent resistance and poor power factors within the electrical network.
According to the information that Greater Kashmir was able to gather, the costs associated with purchasing electricity from external power distribution firms (discoms) have risen to the staggering sum of Rs 55,254 crore over the course of the preceding decade (from 2012–13 to 2021-22).
