Pr Secy reviews JPDCL functioning, asks for focus on reducing AT&C losses

Jammu: Principal Secretary, Power Development Department (PDD), H. Rajesh Prasad, on Thursday reviewed the functioning of Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL), exhorting for maximising revenue and reducing Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses.
Present in the meeting were Managing Director JPDCL, Managing Director JKPTCL, Additional Secretaries, Chief Engineers, Chief Electrical Inspector and other JPDCL officers.
The Principal Secretary reviewed the performance of JPDCL’s all 1400 feeders and observed significant improvements in many areas with reduced losses. He instructed the MD to conduct case studies of the best-performing districts to replicate successful practices in other areas. He also called for recognizing and rewarding high-performing officers while taking strict action against the underperformers.
He also took stock of smart metering projects and appreciated notable progress in different districts of the on Thursday. He expressed satisfaction with the outcomes, particularly in smart metered areas, where losses had decreased. He directed that 100 percent smart-metered areas should be ensured continuous power supply.
The Principal Secretary reiterated Government’s top priority of achieving 100 percent smart metering on all Feeders and Distribution Transformers (DTs). He called for effective implementation of smart Feeder & DT Metering projects. These initiatives will improve energy accounting and load management, he added. He was informed that JPDCL is close to completing feeder metering for all 1400 feeders, ahead of other states and UTs. He also advised addition of more features to feeder metering systems to improve tracking and remote monitoring of energy parameters, curtailments and outages. This initiative will go a long way in overall automation and modernisation of Power Distribution sector, ultimately leading to enhanced consumer satisfaction, he added.
The Principal Secretary asked the officers to focus on reducing losses at all divisional and sub-divisional levels to 15 percent. He said that J&K has one of the lowest power tariffs in the country, while power purchase prices are much higher and require advance payments. He emphasized the importance of educating consumers to pay their dues on time.
Earlier, MD JPDCL, Yasin Chaudhary, during his detailed presentation, provided an overview of performance parameters including billing efficiency, collection efficiency and other commercial metrics. He highlighted that the total revenue collection of JPDCL as on November 2024 had reached Rs. 1661.54 crore, marking an increase of 20.49 percent compared to the previous year.
He also apprised that the overall power situation in Jammu had significantly improved, with unscheduled power cuts largely minimised, except on a few occasions due to low frequency/technical constraints at the northern grid, particularly during peak load times. He credited the smart metering system as a key tool in reducing wastage, leading to improvements across various aspects.