In an admirable effort to keep the grid stable and avoid supplier tens of thousands of outages, Jammu and Kashmir’s administration has opted to take an understandable step in temporarily lowering electricity demand through regional scheduled disconnections.
Such a decision was formed by the Missed Supply Event – a situation over which Jammu and Kashmir has no control over the unavailability of any additional power from the Ministry of Power ‘s (MoP) unallocated quota.
In lieu of allowing an unmanageable power crisis to cause havoc within the lives and economy, the administration has practiced good governance in the name of balancing demand to supply.
This measure maintains uninterrupted potential power supply for essential services (e.g. hospitals), as well as for higher priority large customer industries (e.g. J&K higher priorities customers), while limiting inconvenience for current supplier customers. Load management also showcases a renewed institutional confidence and further commitment to sensible systemic stability and long-term planning.
Due to its rapid development, house electrification, and increase in industrial sector, Jammu and Kashmir’s electricity load demand has drastically increased year on year. Although the region continues to build its own generation capacity, it will rely on central allocations.
The current temporary adjustments also point to the socio-economic necessity for rapid increased investment into renewable energy projects, expansion of hydropower generation, and improved demand side management.
The government should be commended for its transparency in following through with its measures. Instead of implementing blackouts on a whim to address challenges, the government has accepted accountability and taken a proactive approach.
This underlines the need for co-operative federalism, with the states and the Centre working together to mitigate shortages of power.
Going forward, if we can consistently develop energy self-sufficiency – solar, microgrids, hydro, etc, – then the reliance on imported power will dissipate.
Until then, the temporary load management approach is a workable and responsible way forward. The people of Jammu and Kashmir have resilience in their bones, and this adjustment is simply one more piece in the puzzle, improving energy security, and progressing towards a better energy future.
What the administration put in place should not be considered a failure, but rather, one more piece in the puzzle of responsible governance.
Having focused significant time on improving the infrastructure issues Jammu and Kashmir are facing, action is being taken to move forward to a future without power cuts.
