Electricity Crisis in Jammu

Jammu is going through an intense heat wave with temperature rising on each passing day. The mercury has already crossed the 40 Degree Celsius mark and forcing the people to restrict their movement. Schools have also been ordered to adhere to new timings to safeguard the children from the adverse effects of the heat strokes. In such a situation when summer is at its peak and the weather forecast predicting the further soaring of the mercury in the coming days, Jammu is witnessing unlimited electricity cuts. Jammu and Kashmir’s Power Development Department (PDD) seems to be losing control over the efficient electricity management in Jammu. Almost all areas are witnessing power cuts that are unscheduled. It is pertinent to mention that from the last few years PDD has been claiming that the department is streamlining its working to provide better services to the consumers. But on the contrary things have gone from bad to worse when it comes to providing the power supply to the consumers. Earlier the PDD used to accuse consumers of power theft and non-payment of electricity bills. But now after the implementation of the smart metering from the last few years the consumers are paying their bills as per the usage. Even the consumers switched to the so called pre-paid bills system. But the PDD’s house is not in order. Neither is the online pre-paid system working nor are the bills being generated in time leaving the consumers high and dry. What is more paradoxical is that the areas that have been covered under smart meters are witnessing unscheduled power cuts without any reason. When the grievance cells or so called complaint centres are contacted by the consumers during power cuts to lodge their complaints or enquire about the unscheduled power cuts the response is a standard one that the transformer of the area has got damaged, which is meant to put off the caller or the phone is simply kept waiting for hours even after repeated calls.This state of affairs raises serious questions about the work culture and integrity of PDD that is meant to deliver uninterrupted power supply to the consumers. After the installation of the smart meters there is no scope for power theft in the areas where these meters are functioning. But what leads to the power crisis in these areas raises a big question mark on the integrity of PDD. Earlier before the installation of the smart meters power theft in connivance with officials of the department was a norm and illegal connections were a trend. But now what is hampering the constant power supply when the consumers are paying for the electricity consumed? What prompts the PDD to subject the consumers to crisis after the regular payment of bills? The billing system is not smooth. There are complaints about the inflated bills by the consumers. Those consumers who have shifted to the pre-paid system are getting the details of the power consumption from nearly two months regarding the daily usage. Instead of making the electricity supply efficient, the so-called smart metering system introduced by the PDD has left people stranded. The lack of responsible administration and management of electricity supply demands that PDD is made accountable to the public who pay the bills after smart metering. Now the old excuse of power theft by consumers does not hold ground. Public is highly enraged and wants the value for its money. This unprecedented electricity crisis inflicted on the consumers can ignite public unrest and rightly so. Jammu and Kashmir Union territory administration must constitute a high level enquiry into the electricity crisis in Jammu when the consumers are paying for the services. The way PDD is subjecting people to the crisis in Jammu is an example of the failure of the public service delivery system. The UT administration must look for an alternative model for efficient supply of electricity in Jammu. The Jammu and Srinagar have been declared smart cities and the irony of the situation is the concept of smart cities is built on the promise of hassle-free access to essential services, including uninterrupted electricity. However, the current power crisis makes a mockery of this promise, as residents grapple with frequent outages.