Advisor (S) reviews JK’s power scenario

Jammu : Advisor to Governor, Kewal Krishan Sharma took a review of the Power Scenario in the State at a meeting convened here this evening.
The Advisor was briefed about the overall power scenario and power potential in the state. He enquired about the Power Purchases, energy availability, distribution plan, upcoming projects, overall structure and working of the Power Development Department (PDD) besides various schemes and programs being implemented by the department for further improvement and augmentation of power scenario.
The Advisor called for putting in place an effective mechanism to ensure that several ongoing projects in power sector are completed within the stipulated time frame. He further called for effective monitoring of various schemes to ensure better power infrastructural facilities with special focus on improving power supply in the rural and far flung areas.
The Development Commissioner Power, Ajay Gupta informed the Advisor about the measures undertaken for early completion and implementation of various flagship programs besides current status of several such schemes including DeenDayalUpadhaya Gram Jyoti Yojana -(DDUGJY), UJJALA, SAUBHAGYA, IPDS, UDAY and other schemes.
The chair was informed that the SAUBHAGYA RATHs under ‘Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana’ -SAUBHAGYA, which was flagged off by the Governor, shall move in each district for one month till November 30, 2018, to rule out the possibility of any household remained unelectrified. The left-out households, if any, were asked to report to the SAUBHAGYA RATH in-charge for providing on-spot electricity connection under the scheme.
It was further informed that the households located in extremely remote/inaccessible locations requiring longer time for grid connectivity to ensure adherence to stipulated timelines, for them, various other means were adopted like energizing locally created LT networks through DG sets and solar Standalone off-grid solutions.
The meeting was also informed about the damages occurred to power infrastructure across the state due to recent snowfall. The Advisor asked the concerned functionaries to expedite the restoration and repair works under close supervision and put in synchronized efforts for quick action to minimize any damage.
Several key issues pertaining to languishing projects, transmission capacity, providing uninterrupted power supply, transmission and distribution, installation of Smart Grids and Smart Meters were also discussed during the meeting. The Advisor also discussed human resource issues of PDD.
The meeting was attended by Development Commissioner Power, Ajay Gupta, Chief Engineers, Sunil Kumar, Jagdish Singh Chib, Gurmeet Singh, Avinash Dubey, Naseer Ahmad, Nasib Singh, Director TTIC, Mohammad Yousuf Baba besides SEs and other senior functionaries of the concerned department.