Srinagar, Nov 24: Amid the prevailing power crisis in the Valley, the government on Friday said that the Lieutenant Governor has given approval for the procurement of 2400 MWs of electricity from NTPC and Solar Power Corporation of India.
“The power demand in Jammu and Kashmir has increased and at present it is 3200 MWs while the in house generation availability is only 1350 MWs.
This issue has been witnessed every year in the winters as the demand usually goes up during this period,” Principal Secretary, Power Development Department (PDD), H Rajesh Prasad said while addressing a news conference in Jammu.
He added that the power generation in our own houses usually decreases during winters. “At present it is 85 per cent lower compared to the summer season. In summers, we had a power generation of 1050 MWs in June-July, but now it is only 150 MWs. It is because of the low water level in the river and other water bodies,” Prasad said.
As per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Principal Secretary said that the government has now procured an electricity of 2400 MWs, saying that the J&K has agreement for more, but it depends upon the power generation as well.
According to him, a long term decision has been taken by the government to meet the power demand in Jammu and Kashmir during winters, saying that it will take some time to make sure that the electricity is available here.
“To end this paucity for the future as well, we have taken a permanent decision in this regard, 950 MWs have been purchased through PPA with NTPC, 1650 MWs from Solar Power Corporation of India (SPCI) and through the Government of India’s Shakti Policy, 500 MWs on reasonable rates as base load power has been procured,” he said, adding that the LG Manoj Sinha has given approval in this regard.
He further stated that a substantial financial package of Rs 5000 crores was utilized by the department for the comprehensive up-gradation of infrastructure under various Central Sector Schemes, so that adequate capacities are created in almost every district to provide regular & quality power supply to the citizens.
“To ensure that the newly formed corporations are provided with a clean balance sheet, all the outstanding dues on account of power purchase, accumulated to the tune of Rs. 30700 Crores over several years, were taken over by the Government and cleared by availing soft loans under GOI Schemes like Atmanirbhar Bharat and LPS Rules 2022.
Accordingly, a conducive platform has been provided to the discoms to operate on sound business principles and deliver optimal services to consumers, thereby enhancing overall consumer satisfaction levels,” he said.
“In the present system as well, the discoms continue to grapple with high losses attributed mainly to power theft, poor metering and low tariff rates, which are a major cause of concern not only for the department but also threaten the overall efficiency of the sector.
The high Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses, reaching 44% in Jammu and 58% in Kashmir as compared to the national average of 16.44%, have left DISCOMS unable to meet power purchase expenses, leaving aside other critical expenditures like Operations & Maintenance (O&M) and capital investments, which still continue to be supported by Government,” he said.
He added that the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC), Jammu & Kashmir, has issued a new Tariff Order for consumers today effective from 1st December 2023.
On perusal of this Tariff order, it has been found that the commission has affected a 15% increase in the existing tariff. “However, no change has been affected on the fixed charges.
It is pertinent to note that the overall tariff rate still remains lower than the actual cost at which the corporations procure power for supplying to the consumers,” he said.
However, to ensure that the tariff hike does not impact the electricity bill of the consumers, the government of J&K has taken a considerate decision to withdraw the Electricity Duty (ED), which was previously being levied at 15% on energy charges in the existing tariff.
As a result, the overall impact on the electricity bill of consumers would be nil, which is explained with the help of a sample calculation in the subsequent paragraph, he added—(KNO)
