JAMMU: Former Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh who headed Power Development Department (PDD) in the Mufti Mohd Sayeed led alliance government for a period of 10 months has left behind empty coffers with burgeoning power purchase bill of over Rs 7,000 crores.
As PDD minister Dr Singh never hesitated in patting his own back by claiming that during his tenure the power scenario had improved to a large extent and majority of consumers were provided with uninterrupted power supply.
However, it was on Sunday when Governor took review of the PDD at Raj Bhawan he was informed by the senior officers of the department that the cumulative liability on account of power purchased is expected to go up to about Rs. 7000 crore by 31st March this year as against Rs. 5037.49 crore on 31st March, 2015.
After the startling figures were shared by the senior officers, the Governor too expressed serious concern over the huge gap in the cost of power purchased from various sources and the amount of power dues recovered from the consumers.
According to official sources in the first nine months of 2015-16, the Power Development Department has been able to realise revenue of Rs. 1294.36 crore only leaving a gap of over 5700 crores.
After getting the clear picture Governor directed that all the un-metered connections should be metered on a time bound basis to minimise power thefts and ensure proper billing of the power consumed.
The Governor also stressed promotion of energy conservation measures by undertaking energy audit and reduction of transmission and distribution losses alongside progressive improvement of sub-transmission and distribution infrastructure.
The Governor was informed that the peak deficit is about 22% of the peak demand of 2740 MW while Energy deficit has come down to about 21% of 18560 million units.
The Governor also directed Secretary PDD to ensure proper maintenance of distribution system to ensure stable power supply keeping in view the present harsh weather conditions.
The Governor was also informed that the State Government’s ‘in principle’ consent for participating in the Ujjwal DISCOM Assistance Yojna (UDAY), launched by the Union Ministry of Power, was conveyed on 9th December, 2015. Under this scheme, the State Government is likely to be given a special dispensation to borrow Rs. 2140 crore to clear some of the provisional liabilities ending September, 2015. The State will also get additional / priority funding under various schemes of the Union Ministry of Power, subject to compliance of certain operational milestones.
Commissioner, PDD informed the Governor that after accounting for the permissible T&D losses, the extent of subsidy enjoyed by the various categories of consumers is: Domestic (70%), Agriculture (64%), LT Industrial supply (56%), HT Industrial Supply (51%) un-domestic/commercial (49%) etc.
The Governor was informed that a number of projects have been undertaken to augment the limited capacity of the transmission system to enable supply of additional power during peak load, especially during winters. These include two 630 MVA, 400/220 KV Grid substations at New Wanpoh in Kashmir and another at Samba. The Inter-state transmission system is also being strengthened by Jallandhar-Samba-Amargarh (Sopore) 400 KV Double Circuit Line along Mughal Road. With the implementation of the project, 400 KV state ring will become a reality and improve reliability of supply in both Jammu and Kashmir Regions. Further, 220 KV transmission line between Alusteng and Leh will provide grid connectivity to Ladakh Region at a cost of Rs. 1788.41 crores.