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| Amid power mess in JK, PDD ignores Abraham committee report | | | Saqib Ahmad
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Nov 9: Even as the Power Development Department may be justifying its latest power curtailment schedule to reduce the AT&D losses , the authorities have failed to comply the directions of the Abraham Committee report for improvisation of power scenario of the state.
With the onset of winter in Kashmir, the power scenario has started worsening earlier this year as the Power Development Department has resorted to unscheduled power cuts without making any announcement thus aggravating the inconveniences to the people amid the ongoing unrest in the Valle.
Eventhough, the Government is yet to announce the power curtailment schedule for the winter but there has been an immense increase in power curtailment from the last over a week both in metered and non-metered areas of the Valley.
"Ours is a metered area but from the last one week there are abrupt power cuts five to six hours in a day," Mohammad Abdullah, a resident of Nishat said. "Mostly the PDD used to resort such power cuts during harsh cold in December and January but this time power scenario has started worsening earlier," he said.
Mohammad Ashraf, a resident of Bemina, said they witness frequent power cuts from the last one week. "We are bound to get 24 hour electricity supply as per the rules but the PDD often resort to power cuts of around six-hours in a day," he said.
The curtailment in metered areas is against the norms where the department is bound to provide round-the-clock power supply. But the PDD has been violating its own schedule by resorting to long and unscheduled powers cuts in both metered and non-metered areas.
The PDD claims that power curtailment would reduce the AT&D losses and curtailment hours could be reduced where it is observed that there is a reduction in AT&D losses.
However, according to the Abraham Committee constituted by the Government of India under the chairmanship of P. Abraham, the report had slammed the JKPDD, saying it had not made any serious effort to reduce the loss levels. "Instead of curbing the loss levels, they are seeking to pass on the burden of the entire loss level to the consumers," the report says.
The report says that main reasons for high AT&D losses were absence of up gradation of old lines and equipments, poor repair and maintenance of equipments, non-installation of sufficient capacitors, theft & pilferage and tampering of meters, low accountability of employees etc.
Ironically, instead of complying the directions, the official documents of the government reveals that there is no proposal for underground cabling in the state to reduce the loss levels. It said the project would cost thousands of crores of rupees for replacing already existing infrastructure. J&K state has around 50-percent Aggravate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) and Transmission & Distribution (T&D) losses, highest in the country- despite, there has been unprecedented increase in power tariff of over 200-percent in different metered categories for the past around five-years.
Ironically, there has been unprecedented increase in power tariff in the state over the same period of time.
Sources said the AT&D losses for PDD was because of top bureaucrats and politicians, who have been biggest defaulters of power department. |
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