Jammu and Kashmir may face severe power shortage, experts warn

Jammu Kashmir Electricity News: The problem of electricity has increased in Jammu and Kashmir, due to which the people living there are facing a lot of problems. In this matter, experts have warned that if the government fails to take immediate steps, Jammu and Kashmir will have to face a huge power shortage this winter. Due to reduction in water flow in main rivers, power generation in many hydro power projects in Jammu and Kashmir has declined by about 60%. At the same time, the increasing liability of electricity has reached Rs 35,175 crore, due to which purchasing electricity has become even more difficult.

Official sources said that the total power generation capacity of Jammu and Kashmir has seen a decline of about 60-62% in the last few days. The power generation capacity of the Baglihar and Salal hydroelectric projects on the Chenab river has declined by about 50%, as the flow of water in the river has also reduced.

450 MW electricity is being produced

Let us tell you that at present Jammu and Kashmir is producing about 450 MW of electricity per day out of its total capacity of about 1200 MW. The total generation capacity of Baglihar power project near Ramban is about 900 MW, while Jammu and Kashmir is getting 300 MW power from other projects. However, due to less rainfall in summer and snowfall last winter, the flow of water in the rivers of Kashmir has also reduced significantly. Along with this, power generation in hydro power projects in the valley has also been badly affected this winter.

Sources said, “The total peak demand of electricity in Jammu is 1100 MW, while the peak demand of electricity in Kashmir is around 1600 MW. This means that the total peak demand of electricity in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is 2700 MW. Peak Season “To meet the shortfall in Jammu and Kashmir, approximately 2100 MW of power is purchased from the central exchange/grid or other sources.”

The power purchase bill during 2022-23 was Rs 9886 crore, during 2021-22 was Rs 9008 crore and during 2020-21 was Rs 7847 crore. Last year this bill was around Rs 7500 crore. This year this dues reached Rs 35,175 crore.

Power cut due to increase in demand
JPDCL/JKPCL Managing Director Yasin Mohammad Chaudhary said that as a precautionary measure, the department has implemented scheduled power cuts and the daytime curtailment schedule has already been implemented. Yasin said that under the special scheme, Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory will get 393 MW additional electricity. With some arrangement with UP Power Corporation, JKUT will get about 150 to 200 MW additional power, also currently the power situation in both the areas is better and we are trying our best to make the people comfortable during these winters. However, if demand increases and the revenue receipt gap widens, more severe power cuts will become inevitable.

Yasin said that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which purchases electricity from the Centre, has an electricity liability of Rs 35,175 crore as on date. This liability was Rs 16,580 crore during 2020-21, it increased to Rs 23,468 crore during 2021-22 and reached Rs 31,889 crore during 2022-23. JPDCL earned revenue of Rs 2347 crore in Jammu region, while KPDCL earned Rs 1867 crore in Kashmir. The total revenue receipt in JKUT was Rs 4214 crore. Therefore, there was a loss of Rs 3286 crore against the total electricity bill of the UT. This amount remained outstanding as liability of the previous year, which kept increasing during the last 4 years.

Also read: ‘No application launched’, National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir cautions about fake apps