“Grievances of the consumers are not only about unscheduled power cuts but also about drop in voltage from peak evening hours till midnight”
Jammu & Kashmir known for its hydro power potential should have surplus power facility but unfortunately it does not get even the supply it requires to maintain supplies to the domestic consumers in both Kashmir Valley and as well as Jammu division. The power supply during the biting cold of winter is unfortunately too low to see voltage going down too low to see even the LED Bulbs not glowing fully from evening till mid night more so in rural areas than in urban parts of Kashmir Valley. Though the cause of LED bulbs not glowing fully in late evening hours is technically stated to be faulty wiring or incompatible dimmer switches or power supply issues or loose connections or overheating or defective bulbs but in Kashmir Valley the cause is predominantly believed to be a faulty power source in view of the fact that as power supply improves in the day time due to comparatively low consumption the bulbs glow fully in afternoon hours and stop glowing fully from evening hours till mid night. As purchasing more power from the Northern Power Grid Corporation Of India is the only way to bring power supply to the optimum level during peak winter periods in Kashmir Valley the Government shows it’s inability to purchase the required power supply for the consumers most of whom don’t pay the power tariff areas well in time.
“The prevailing situation necessitates improvement in the infrastructural facilities required for maintaining both the power supply as per Government’s power curtailment schedule and as well as the voltage required for atleast running the LED bulbs smoothly. Without pro-active reforms for improving the infrastructural power sector the KPDCL can neither stick to its power curtailment nor can it maintain voltage at the optimum level during peak morning and evening hours.”
Interestingly Government itself says that it has brought 6.5 lakh power consumers under prepaid smart meter category giving an indication that the Government gets more revenue than what it used to get before installing pre-paid smart meters in the twin capital cities and major towns of both Kashmir Valley and as well as Jammu division. Since the grievances of the consumers are not only about unscheduled power cuts but also about drop in voltage from peak evening hours till midnight, the Kashmir Power Development Corporation Ltd (Ltd) owes a lot of explanations for failing to maintain the power supply on the voltage required for running the LED bulbs smoothly in morning and peak evening hours. The prevailing situation necessitates improvement in the infrastructural facilities required for maintaining both the power supply as per Government’s power curtailment schedule and as well as the voltage required for atleast running the LED bulbs smoothly. Without pro-active reforms for improving the infrastructural power sector the KPDCL can neither stick to its power curtailment nor can it maintain voltage at the optimum level during peak morning and evening hours.
