STATE TIMES NEWS
Jammu: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday asked the Power Development Department (PDD) to avoid unscheduled power cuts especially during the peak hours.
Speaking at a meeting convened to take a first hand appraisal of the power and water supply situation in Jammu region, in view of the heat wave conditions prevailing here, the Chief Minister said, adding that consumers should be informed in advance about the power curtailment schedule, if any to be implemented, during exigencies.
Flagging energy as a key sector in J&K, Mehbooba called for a comprehensive roadmap for augmenting the state’s power supply by strengthening the generation and distribution network.
The Chief Minister also stressed on better synergy between PDD and PHE Department to avoid system breakdown which often leads to disruption of water supply in and around the city.
She asked PDD to install additional capacitors and transformers where-ever required to avoid system breakdown.
She called for removal of illegal power connections, if any, from the dedicated PHE feeders which is one of the major causes for system breakdown due to overload.
The Chief Minister called for expediting works under R-APDRP (Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme) to augment power supply.
The Chief Minister asked the executing agency IRCON to carry out works in double-shift to ensure completion of the project ahead of the schedule time-frame of March 2017.
“R-APDRP has already missed the deadline and the thrust should be on completing the project ahead of the fresh deadline of March 2017,” she maintained. Mehbooba said implementation of R-APDRP will go a long way in improving the power supply position in the state.
“While the people are facing lot of inconvenience due to power outages during sweltering summer in Jammu region, those in Kashmir are facing similar hardships during harsh winters,” she said and added that implementation of RAPDRP would to a great extent streamline the power distribution mechanism.
Asking PDD to devise a strategy to reduce power losses and to check pilferage of electricity, Mehbooba said the scheduled power cuts should be in accordance with the working hours fixed for carrying out RAPDRP works by IRCON, which should be consumer-friendly.
