The start of winter has already pushed the power demand in Jammu & Kashmir to around 2,800 MW resulting in the union territory facing a shortage.
Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Manoj Sinha on December 7 met Union power and renewable energy minister RK Singh in New Delhi to flag the issue. In its response, the Central government stated that it has made additional allocation of 1,972 MW to take care of the urgent power requirement of the union territory (UT).
"The Union power minister apprised the LG that the Ministry of Power has already allocated 1,500 MW from Central pool to meet the winter requirements of J&K. Further, 472 MW is also allocated under Shakti policy, for which, Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the power department of J&K is proposed to be signed by the end of December, 2023. Overall, 1972 MW of additional allocation has been made by the Central government to take care of the urgent power requirement of J&K," the Ministry said in a statement.
RK Singh also reviewed various programmes of the Ministry of Power being implemented in Jammu and Kashmir, under Central Sector Schemes. The power minister directed the concerned agencies to expedite the ongoing projects related to transmission lines, smart meters and other distribution infrastructure works. He directed that all the remaining projects should be awarded by the end of December 2023 and also that completion of all the ongoing projects should be ensured as per the schedule.
"It was informed that Ministry of Power under various programmes have already sanctioned Rs 10,691 crore for strengthening of the power systems in the UT of J&K. It was reported that more than 4.25 lakh smart pre-paid meters have already been installed and that a remarkable improvement in the billing and collection efficiency has been noticed in these areas. Besides, 100 percent smart pre-paid metering is targeted to be achieved by 2025-26," it stated.
The Union minister said the power generation capacity in J&K will be doubled in the coming 3-4 years. He said four mega hydro electric projects with total capacity of 3,014 MW – namely PakalDul (1,000MW), Kiru (624 MW), Kwar (540 MW) and Ratle (830 MW) - which were either stalled or could not commence due to various issues for past so many years have now been fast-tracked and are fully on track for completion before 2026.
"In addition, MoUs between Government of India and Government of J&K have been signed, for development of 4 more Mega Hydel Projects worth Rs 29,600 crore, with total capacity of 3,284 MW," the Ministry said.
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