By: Riyaz Bhat
Srinagar: Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) on Monday said the Discom is trying hard to improve and supply uninterrupted power supply this winter.
Managing Director (MD) Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL), Mahmood Ahmad Shah said, “This year so far, KPDCL has provided improved power supply to consumers. A lot of improvement has been made in the discom in comparison to the previous year.”
About the smart meters installation, Shah said, “We installed 3 lakh smart metres last year and this year, we have added over 1.25 lakh smart meters across rural and urban areas of the Kashmir region. The process continues.”
The MD said the goal is to achieve 100% coverage. “Despite disruptions caused by floods and the war-like situation, we are working to install more smart meters,” he said.
Shah further informed that KPDCL installed insulated cables across the valley this year. “The Low Capacity Power (LCP) system is running, but sometimes we face fault issues due to rain. However, till today, we have been providing normal supply to our consumers,” he said.
Given the orange warning issued in view of the bad weather predictions, the MD KPDCL assured that the department’s staff is ready to repair any disruptions. (KNO)
Power demand surges: ‘200 MW’
By: Riyaz Bhat
With the dip in mercury, the power demand in Kashmir has increased by nearly 200 Megawatts.
An official said that Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) has witnessed an additional demand of nearly 200 MW of power in the past two days.
The official informed: “Earlier, there used to be a power demand ranging from 1350 to 1400 MWs. However, from the past two days the demand has increased by nearly 200 MWs.”
The official further informed that KPDCL is trying to provide improved power supply to the consumers. “This year there has been a noticeable improvement and there will likely be better power supply for the Kashmir region in the winters.”
Pertinently, earlier this month, it was reported that with the present and other planned Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) or a Transmission Service Agreement (TSA), Jammu and Kashmir will likely be unable to meet and cater the power demands of consumers in the upcoming nine years.
A study in this regard by the Government of India (GoI) reads, “The study has analyzed the daily and monthly pattern of unserved energy in the year 2034-35, it can be seen that contracted capacity (present and planned) is unable to meet the demand.”
“It can be seen that during the high demand of winter months, the proportion of unserved energy is high,” reads the study.
Besides, the report further reveals that the surplus capacity is available with states due to RE availability, demand variation etc. (KNO)
