Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday directed officials to take effective measures to address power shortages and ensure adequate essential services for residents.
Abdullah cancelled all his engagements in Jammu to personally monitor functioning of the power department in the valley, which has been reeling from intense coldwave conditions.
The chief minister chaired a high-level meeting to review the power supply scenario in Kashmir, an official press release informed Monday.
It said he discussed a comprehensive strategy to manage peak electricity demand and directed the officials to maintain efficiency in ensuring reliable supply during the harsh winter season.
Abdullah instructed the Power Development Department (PDD) to strictly comply with the scheduled curtailment programme and ensure proper publicity of planned outages to keep consumers informed in advance.
He was briefed on the power situation in the valley, including the load curtailment plan and the demand-versus-consumption statistics.
It was highlighted that despite a 7-8 percent increase in electricity supply compared to the previous year, the extreme cold had caused a significant rise in the load profile, exceeding the available resources.
The situation was further aggravated by record-low power generation due to minimal water discharge in hydroelectric power plants, he was informed.
The officials also apprised Abdullah of the department’s interventions to reduce the demand-supply gap.
It was reported that substantial capacity additions had been made since the last winter to meet the increased demand.
Abdullah directed the officials to rationalise the load curtailment programme based on the loss profile of feeders and explore options to enhance the allocation of power.
He also laid stress on the importance of equity in providing electricity to all while incentivising law-abiding consumers but ensuring adequate power supply, especially during this period of severe cold, was made available to the general public.
Chief Secretary Atal Duloo attended the meeting virtually, the meeting was also attended by Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Dheeraj Gupta, Principal Secretary PDD Rajesh H Prasad, Managing Director JKPTCL, Managing Director KPDCL and Chief Engineers of various wings of the Power Development Department. The Chief Minister emphasized the urgent need for the smart metering of Distribution Transformers (DTs) and feeders to improve the monitoring and efficiency of the power distribution system.
Later, the Chief Minister inspected the Sub Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC) at Bemina to review the load monitoring system.
He was provided with division- and district-wise details of power load and consumption and he directed officials to allocate electricity with maximum efficiency to minimize disruptions.
Reaffirming his commitment to addressing the hardships caused by the severe winter conditions, the Chief Minister urged PDD authorities to prioritize uninterrupted power supply for essential services and to remain proactive in managing the challenges posed by the ongoing cold wave, the handout said.
