AC approves purchase of additional 500 MW of power to meet winter demand
Jammu: The Administrative Council (AC) which met here with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in chair, gave its approval for purchase of additional energy of 500 MW of firm power from the Ministry of Power (MOP) to meet base load power requirement of the UT, an official press release informed Sunday.
Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to the LG, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary and Dr. Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, Principal Secretary to LG attended the meeting.
The AC assents allocation of additional 500 MW of power from MOP in B(v) mode(procurement being done by PFC) to meet base load power requirement essentially required to meet the winter demand, the press release said.
It said the power availability in winter reduces due to the high proportion of hydropower in the UT. In order to bridge this gap between demand and availability of power during winter months, AC approved signing of a fresh Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) by J&K Power Corporation Limited (JKPCL) with NTPC regarding Singrauli-III run by NTPC.
This will subside the energy demand in J&K which is increasing at a CAGR of 10 percent. Singrauli-II being a thermal power station is a must run station, as its power supports J&K’s requirement during winter when the generation from hydro generators of ISGS reduces to 150-300 MW only i.e. a reduction of 70-90 percent of summer generation, the press release said.
“As such, it will increase its availability by signing a new Power Purchase Agreement of JKPCL with NTPC regarding Singrauli-III which would help the UT in tiding over the power shortage faced by it during the lean winter season,” it said.
