Consumers in Kashmir are facing sporadic power outages as there are unscheduled power cuts by the Power Development Department (PDD) as winter is yet to set in.
Residents of several areas in valley are up in arms against unscheduled power cuts. The aggrieved residents have alleged that Power Development Department (PDD) doesn’t ensure regular power supply to them.
One of its victims is Umar Ahmad, who runs a pharmacy agency in old city Srinagar. According to him, the power cuts hamper him to manage his shop records on computer, and lights required to keep shop illuminating.
“Due to frequent power cuts we suffer. We fail to manage records on computer. Our shops also grope in darkness,” he said.
Power back-up system, Ahmad said, too does not offer much help because the energy required to keep it operational during cuts is too minimal.
He said power cuts have forced him to adopt manual system of recording records, which is time consuming, costly, repetitive and taxing.
A similar complaint was shared by a group of traders who operate in government owned complex at Batamaloo. According to them, the cuts make their operation of business difficult, despite; they pay their power bills on time.
Every year, according to PDD, the Valley faces an electricity deficiency of around 800 MWs because only 1300 MWs of electricity is available against a demand of around 2100-2200 MWs, resulting in a deficiency of around 800 MWs.
Meanwhile, Chief Engineer, KPDCL, Aijaz Ahmad Dar said that as per the schedule devised, the non-metered areas will see a power curtailment of 4 to 5 hours in a day initially, and for metered areas it will be for 2 to 3 hours,” he said.
“We are trying our best to minimize power curtailment hours, but people must cooperate with the department,” Dar said, while claiming that “illegal use of power, hooking, theft, etc. continue”.
“In winter, there is an additional 100 MWs of demand, which adds to the deficit. Curtailment is extremely difficult for an electrical engineer to plan. When demand increases, supply suffers because only 1300 MWs are available,” Dar added.
The consumers appealed to higher authorities to ensure an uninterrupted power supply to the consumers ahead of winters.
