“Both KPDCL and JPDCL like a bank being a Government Controlled commercial institution is bound to supply consumers the power for the payments they are making in advance”.
Not by November end or Mid December as per the past practice and precedence but exactly by mid October this year ,i.e, almost two and half months before the scheduled timing of the announcement of the power curtailment schedule the Kashmir Power Development Corporation Ltd (KPDCL) has announced power curtailment schedule which unfortunately is as high as it used to be in mid winter months of December and January. Though Kashmir Power Development Corporation Ltd (KPDL) in Kashmir and Jammu Power Development Corporation Ltd (JPDCL) in Jammu had started installing smart meters in twin capital cities Srinagar and Jammu with a promise of 24 hour uninterrupted power supply to consumers both in peak summer and mid winter seasons but the power curtailment schedule of four and a half hours a day for metered areas is unprecedentedly high which consumers haven’t witnessed even in mid winter months of December and January in the past. So both KPDCL and JPDCL have not only advanced the timing for the announcement of power curtailment scheduled by about two and a half months this year but have also increased the timing of daily power cuts from just one or one a half hour to four and a half hours in metered areas and eight hours in non metered areas. Forget about the argument of KPDCL and JPDCL that consumers don’t pay power tariff bills in time as now about 26000 consumers after shifting to online pre-paid power tariff payment system in summer capital Srinagar alone are paying monthly power tariffs in advance which totals to not less than Rs 8-10 Crores a month. Similarly the power tariff collected under the online pre-paid power tariff payment system in Jammu city the winter capital is also totaling about Rs 8-10 Crores. Though both KPDCL and JPDCL like a bank being a Government Controlled commercial institution is bound to supply consumers the power for the payments they are making in advance but unfortunately both the twin power development corporations in violation of basic spirits of commercialisation are unilaterally fixing time schedule for supplying power to consumers without showing any respect for their conveniences.
“Though developing thermal and power plants would surely increase the power distribution capacities of both KPDCL in Kashmir and JPDCL in Jammu but with power distribution capacities dropping to a new low both in Kashmir and Jammu division a message goes out to the consumers that KPDCL in Kashmir and JPDCL in Jammu rely only on the power purchasing capacity of the Government only to buy power from Northern Power Grid Corporation even after implementing online pre-paid power tariff payment system both in Srinagar and Jammu and don’t take any steps for developing thermal and gas power plants in Kashmir and Jammu”.
With the revenue collection picking up after the implementation of the online pre-paid power tariff payment system both in Srinagar and Jammu, the Kashmir Power Development Corporation Ltd (KPDCL) in Kashmir and Jammu Power Development Corporation (JPDCL) in Jammu ceases the moral and administrative right to deny consumers the power supply when they require it the most for the convenience of their families in their homes and also running their trades at their trading outlets. Though developing thermal and power plants would surely increase the power distribution capacities of both KPDCL in Kashmir and JPDCL in Jammu but with power distribution capacities dropping to a new low both in Kashmir and Jammu division a message goes out to the consumers that KPDCL in Kashmir and JPDCL in Jammu rely only on the power purchasing capacity of the Government only to buy power from Northern Power Grid Corporation even after implementing online pre-paid power tariff payment system both in Srinagar and Jammu and don’t take any steps for developing thermal and gas power plants in Kashmir and Jammu .
