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Power Department in Jammu and Kashmir is once again in the news. This time the department is likely to face the extra burden of Rs 80 crore due to the government waiving off the fixed demand charges by 50% on connections for industrial and commercial units.
The J&K government had announced this relaxation as respite for businessmen due to the losses suffered by them during COVID-19 times. However, the Power Department will have to bear this loss on its own as the government has not framed up any policy to compensate the loss which the department has suffered due to the reduction in fixed demand charges.
The Power Department in J&K purchases electricity at higher rates and sells it to consumers at a subsidized cost and this practice has been in vogue for the past so many years.
The erstwhile regimes in Jammu and Kashmir raised the issues like getting power projects back and used to claim that they can go to any extent to get accomplish their mission. The politicians, who ruled J&K for so many years, did not focus on streamlining the power distribution system. Nor did they bother about fixing the transmission and distribution losses.
Many politicians, who lived in government accommodations’ never cleared their power dues as they enjoyed “special status” in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir.
The power sector in Jammu and Kashmir has been in mess during the past 70-years. Despite J&K having huge water resources no serious effort was made to generate hydel power. Above all nothing concrete was done to ensure that J&K becomes self-reliant vis-à-vis revenue collection.
After J&K’s transition into a union territory the Power Development Department (PDD) has been bifurcated into Jammu Power Development Corporation and Kashmir Power Development Corporation.
The proposal to install smart meters has already been finalized. The time is not far when the people will have to pay electricity charges in advance as the pre-paid meters will become a norm.
At present the KPDCL is facing a difficult situation as the complaints of power theft in the Valley are galore.
People not making judicious use of the electricity has aggravated the power crisis. It has been a precedent that in winter months Kashmir faces unscheduled power cuts while in summer Jammu faces the same issue.
Now, the time has changed so has the government and people are hoping that what used to happen in the past won’t happen again and the power crisis in J&K will become a thing of the past. |
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