Asks officials to draw comprehensive contingency plan for winters
Precious Kashmir News
Srinagar, Aug 22: Advisor to Lieutenant Governor Baseer Ahmad Khan Saturday inspected the key works of Power Development Department (PDD) in Srinagar and Ganderbal districts.
The areas he visited included receiving station Centaur, Gulab Bagh, Alusteng. During his visit to Centaur receiving station, he directed its upgradation from 6.3 MVA to 12.6 MVA to provide adequate power supply. He was informed by the officers that the receiving station will be completed before the onset of winter.
During the inspection the Advisor also directed the officers to develop a contingency plan in order to meet the winter requirements which witnesses a heavy load. He also asked them to identify the vulnerable areas that witness power shutdown during winters so that mobile transformers would be kept at their disposal. He further directed them to complete the trimming or cutting down of trees near power lines by October to avoid any damages during winters.
He also asked them to keep buffer stock of transformers of different capacities available so that consumers are provided adequate power supply. The Advisor was briefed about the present status of the power supply and steps being taken to improve and augment the power scenario to ensure adequate power supply to the consumers especially during winters.
The Advisor said that the Lieutenant Governor of the UT wants that people should feel a real change in power supply by the onset of this winter and directed officers to work in this regard. He said that people of the UT have to be provided adequate power supply.
Regarding strengthening of the Power sector, the Advisor was informed that PDD was undergoing major reforms to address shortcomings in this sector that would augment electricity supply in Kashmir valley, especially during the winter season. He was also informed that 25 receiving stations are being upgraded that would enhance our capacity to a large extent.
During his visit, the Advisor directed the executing agencies to expedite the pace of work on various projects for their timely completion. He stressed upon the officers for constant monitoring of these projects so that tangible results are achieved on the ground.
The Advisor was informed that the PDD is working proactively by going for active metering and 40 towns have been covered under smart metering in Srinagar city. He also directed them to check power pilfirage and go for modernisation and reformation measures to check transmission and distribution losses.
The Advisor asked the officers to identify all worn-out poles, transformers and conductor in the region so that sufficient funds are made available to replace the same on a mission mode for creating better distribution infrastructure.