Srinagar, Nov 27: The Kashmir Valley is grappling with an escalating energy disaster as issues deepen over the widening hole between the agreed load of 2171 MW of electrical energy and precise energy allocation, adversely affecting residents and companies.
The official information accessed by Larger Kashmir underscores the severity of the state of affairs, revealing that the agreed load, set at 2171 MW by the Kashmir Energy Improvement Company Restricted (KPDCL), has constantly elevated from 1911 MW in March 2021 to 2045 MW in 2022, reaching the current agreed load of 2171 MW in 2023.
In stark distinction, the facility allocation in Kashmir has fallen far under the agreed load, hovering at a mere 1400 MW to 1500 MW over the past couple of weeks.
This stark disparity has led to a major energy disaster, prompting the KPDCL to hunt options, in keeping with KPDCL officers.
KPDCL had submitted a petition earlier than the Jammu and Kashmir Electrical energy Regulatory Fee (JERC), advocating for an influence tariff hike which the fee agreed to hike by 15 %.
Nevertheless, the hike wouldn’t have any impression on individuals as the federal government waived off 15 % ED.
Nevertheless, the petition highlighted an anticipated surge in energy buy forecast and the variety of customers, projecting a rise from 12.27 lakh customers in 2023 to 13.28 lakh customers within the fiscal
yr 2024-25.
Notably, the KPDCL’s petition reveals a shift in client demographics, with the variety of unmetered customers projected to say no whereas the variety of metered customers is anticipated to rise.
Recognising the urgency of the state of affairs, the Administrative Council (AC) convened beneath the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, took important steps to mitigate the facility disaster.
The AC permitted the acquisition of an extra 500 MW of agency energy from the Ministry of Energy (MOP) to satisfy the Base Load energy requirement of J&Okay.
The AC additionally sanctioned the allocation of an extra 500 MW of agency energy from MOP in B(v) mode, procured by Energy Finance Company (PFC), important to satisfy the winter demand.
Moreover, the AC permitted the signing of a recent Energy Buy Settlement (PPA) between J&Okay Energy Company Restricted (JKPCL) and NTPC concerning Singrauli-III, a thermal energy station run by NTPC.
This transfer goals to bridge the hole between demand and availability of energy through the winter months when the era from hydro mills considerably reduces.
“It’s a undeniable fact that energy demand is consistently growing. We can’t put the complete burden of AT&C losses on customers. The areas which have been absolutely metered, are usually not giving any losses, so the failure to finish metering on time is the fault which lies with authorities, there are infrastructural losses, energy pilferage, and many others which must be addressed,” stated a senior KPDCL official.
The Eighteenth All India Energy Survey has predicted a considerable surge in energy demand for J&Okay, projecting a rise from 1706 MW in 2004-05 to 4217 MW by 2021-22.
Regardless of the projections, the present energy allocation, each from outdoors producing corporations and native energy era, falls considerably wanting assembly the area’s vitality necessities.
The Central Electrical energy Authority’s report anticipates a peak energy demand of 3150 MW for J&Okay in 2022-23, underscoring the urgent want for quick measures to handle the facility disaster and guarantee a steady vitality provide for the Valley.
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