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| PDD unable to peg back T&D losses, AT&C losses reach 73 percent | | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
Jammu, Nov 27: Despite receiving grants from Government of India for controlling annual transmission and distribution losses, Jammu and Kashmir has failed to show any notable improvement in controlling the losses.
According to a report of Planning Commission India, T&D losses in the state as reported by Power Development Department (PDD) continue to hover above 60 percent. The actual losses as reported by JKPDD were 63.04 percent for 2009-10, 62.03 percent for 2010-11 and 61.44 percent for 2011-12. Though the government did boost of bringing it down to 46.72 percent by the end of last financial year and even said that these losses would come down to 46.36 percent by end of 2013-14.
However, reports from Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and Northern Region Power Committee (NRPC) do not indicate much improvement in the scenario. The losses continue to hover above 60 percent. The mess has been compounded by AT and C losses reaching all time high of 73 percent. These losses have increased because of state's poor collection efficiency. The collection efficiency, according to Planning Commission of India is around 71 percent.
Further, J&K had indicated that power deficit would be around Rs. 1321 crore for year 2012-13 but there was deterioration and the actual deficit reached Rs. 1800 crore. For the year 2013-14, state government had indicated that the deficit would be Rs. 1751. However, once the year comes to a close, experts believe that the power deficit would go beyond Rs. 2000 crore.
Sources in PDD said that state has even failed to meet the guidelines set by the Union Power Ministry to bring down the losses by three percent annually. They added that the State Government has faced embarrassing moments many a time before the Planning Commission of India for failing to control the T&D losses.
PDD officials admitted Jammu and Kashmir is the only state in India, where about 70 percent energy is lost due to power pilferage and transmission and distribution losses and the state cannot afford this huge deficit for a long. Admitting that T&D losses in the state are highest in the country, sources said the government has repeatedly described the losses as unacceptably high while adding that this loss was putting enormous strain on the state finances.
PDD has repeatedly proposed to improve revenue, qualities of power supplied and reduce expenditure besides introducing a scheme of incentives and disincentives to bring down the T&D losses to an acceptable level. A counter-check system of meter reading and restricting the tenure of meter readers to a maximum period of one year at a place were among the other that have been proposed repeatedly to reduce the level of T&D losses. But nothing has been done practically.
SERC has also asked the PDD to reduce the T&D loss levels by 10 per cent during current financial year by adopting various measures such as 100 per cent metering of consumers, metering of all distribution transformers in the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar, undertaking revision of agreements of all categories of consumers to arrive at realistic connected loads, re-activate supervision to check the menace of bypassing and tampering of meters, involve Electricity magistrates already in place in the Department, computerize bills, reduce human interface and replace bare conductors with insultated wires in theft prone areas. Economic Survey Report 2012-13, which was presented in the Assembly last month, also slammed PDD for failing to bring down the T&D losses. Report said that the T&D losses have instead jumped from 43 percent from fiscal year 2007-2008 to 61.61 percent in 2012-2013. |
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