Frustrating Frequent Power Cuts Go Unnoticed at Green Avenue Sector in Peerbagh Srinagar

Srinagar: Residents in Green Avenue Sector A, Perbagh, are frustrated by frequent power cuts that go beyond the scheduled outage times. Despite the installation of smart meters in May 2023, the area experiences prolonged periods without electricity, draining backup inverters.
The colony, known for its early adoption of meters, is perplexed by the lack of revenue shortfall in department records despite the persistent power cuts. A delegation of residents told Kashmir Horizon that despite assurances of uninterrupted supply, residents endure up to 14-hour blackouts, even at night. “We are greatly troubled by the frequent power cuts that occur outside of the scheduled times. These interruptions are so frequent and prolonged that even our inverters cannot cope.
“Our community was among the first to have meters installed back in the late nineties, and they have been replaced periodically since then. In May 2023, we became one of the pioneers in installing smart meters within our colony. Departmental records confirm that there is no shortfall in revenue,” they said.
Another local said that the authorities previously assured us that smart metering would guarantee uninterrupted power supply to our area. Unfortunately, we have been plunged into darkness despite these promises. The power cuts have become a nightly occurrence, lasting an average of 12 to 14 hours, with occasional deviations from this pattern, he said.
“When we reached out to the department, we either received no response or were told that the erratic supply was due to our area being linked to a feeder that does not generate sufficient revenue,” he said.
However, locals argue that they shouldn’t be made to suffer for someone else’s mistakes. They suggest that the department should consider delinking our area from the current feeder and connecting it to one that falls into the revenue-generating category.
The local residents appealed to the Lieutenant Governor to investigate the matter, as it seems the department is not accurately informing the LG of the situation and instead falsely reporting that all is well.
Furthermore, they urge the LG to request the department to provide the logbook of the area to illustrate how the power interruptions occur. They plead for immediate intervention and resolution of this genuine grievance.