‘Power supply from Northern Grid drops’
By: Sameer Lone
Srinagar: Even as the J&K Government claims to have revamped the power scenario in Kashmir, the unscheduled and pesky power cuts have started to trouble people amidst the holy month of Ramadan.
The Union Territory administration’s claims of having enhanced power generation capacity on the ground, have fallen flat as the peak power demand at the Sehri and Iftaar times has led to severe power outages with many areas in Srinagar and other parts facing a six hour long power outages in 24 hours.
According to the sources, the power supply from the national grid has dropped to around 200 MW leaving the Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited (KPDCL) to fend for its own resources, which too are not in a position to fulfill the demand.
To overcome the shortage the KPDCL has instead resorted to load shedding during peak time leaving people in immense hardships.
“The peak demand has left Kashmir with limited power supply as local power generation is not enough to meet the demand,” sources in KPDCL told Precious Kashmir.
Owned and maintained by Power Grid Corporation of India, the National Grid is the high-voltage electricity transmission network in India, connecting power stations and major substations and ensuring that electricity generated anywhere in India can be used to satisfy demand elsewhere.
According to a report, since the second week of March, the Northern Grid has routinely reported maximum loads above 195,000 MW, including a peak of 199,584 MW on April 8 – less than 0.5 percent below the record.
Many senior officials in KPDCL say the March and April have hardly been any precipitation, in Kashmir, that has affected the overall power generation especially in Chenab Valley power projects which are generating lesser electricity thus affecting the over dynamics.
Meanwhile, the locals and the students of various area of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory (UT) have expressed their anger over irritating power cuts.
Locals in various Srinagar areas that include Rawalpora, Sanat Nagar and surroundings said that power is playing hide and seek in their areas and they feel irritated.
“There is no adherence to the power curtailment schedule issued by the Power Development Department (PDD),” said, Mohammad Maqbool, a local.
