To meet the increasing electricity demand in Jammu & Kashmir, the Union Government has allocated 207 MW of additional power to the Union Territory.
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Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor & PDD, Nitishwar Kumar, said that the order issued by the Union Ministry of Power would substantially increase power availability in J&K.
Pertinently, the Union Government has allocated additional power from the unallocated quota of Central Generating Stations of the Northern Region Pool to Jammu & Kashmir.
The order will come into effect from midnight, and the UT is expected to receive the additional supply by tomorrow.
J&K’s Power Development Department is also making dedicated efforts on all fronts to meet the rising demand for the power supply in the UT, exploring practical and viable solutions to address the needs of the end consumers.
It was informed that between 1st to 25th April, the Power Development Department allocated additional Rs. 52 Crore to purchase power from the open market, also known as Energy Exchange. However, due to the increased number of bidding, electricity worth Rs.10.41 crore could only be supplied to J&K.
Owing to the early onset of summer and an unprecedented heatwave in March and April, experienced for the first time in the last 122 years and 50 years, respectively, the Power Development Department decided to place a maximum bid at the energy exchange to meet the shortfall amidst the surging power demand. Eventually, the additional allocation was made in March to ensure maximum power supply.
The Power Development Department is also ensuring optimal output from available power sources. However, it is pertinent to mention that thermal plants account for 70% of the country’s power generation capacity.
Thermal and Hydropower contribute 50%-50% to meeting the demand of the Union Territory. However, hydropower plants operate at reduced capacity during March and April due to snow accumulation that starts melting only in May.
In April 2021, the power demand for the Jammu division was 830 MW per day. The demand has increased to 900 MW this year. The Power Development Department is using all its resources, including purchases from the Energy Exchange, to ensure 770 MW, which is being supplied to the people of the Jammu division.
Between 1st and 26th April of this year, only 6.17% less power units were supplied than in 2021. The PDD officials are bidding at the Energy Exchange hourly to ensure that even this gap is bridged.
In the light of the increasing power demand in the Jammu and Kashmir Division, Nitishwar Kumar is reviewing the position of power availability on an hourly basis.
A meeting was also held earlier today in which senior officials of PDD and Engineers were present. As compared to April 2021, energy consumption this year for the same period has increased.
After detailed deliberations in the meeting, Nitishwar Kumar directed the deployment of middle management level officers at grid stations to monitor the power schedule. In addition, it was advised that the area-wise curtailment schedule be communicated to the public using all available platforms.
