JAMMU, June 14:Just as the summer season began to peak in Jammu, the region experienced its worst power crisis in recent years, with both metered and non-metered areas experiencing both scheduled and unscheduled power outages.
According to Power Development Department (PDD) officials, the load has suddenly increased, resulting in a power outage.
“The power load has suddenly increased in the last few days, resulting in a power crisis in Jammu,” Sandeep Seth, Chief Engineer, Power Development Department (PDD), told Rising Kashmir, adding, “This power crisis will continue in the days ahead”.
Official sources told Rising Kashmir that, in light of the recent power outage, the government has begun purchasing Rs 31,000 crore in power to meet demand, but this is still insufficient to resolve the crisis.
According to the Chief Engineer, the power outage will last for several days. Meanwhile, the PDD officials were perplexed when asked why such a crisis did not exist last year when smart metres were not installed.
The government also promised that metered areas would receive regular power supply, but now even areas with smart metres are feeling the effects of the power outage.
“There is only a two-hour curtailment in metered areas and an eight-hour curtailment in non-metered areas, but if it exceeds that, we must investigate the reasons,” said the Chief Engineer.
He stated, “we have been charging based on the number of units consumed by the customers. There is no big deal in this,” he added.
The Jammu region has been experiencing the worst power crisis in recent years, as not only areas with smart metres, but also non-metered areas, have been forced to contend with heat wave conditions.
Officially, metered areas are subject to a two-hour curtailment per day, while non-metered areas are subject to an eight-hour curtailment per day.
However, both metering and non-metering areas have had to deal with unscheduled power outages, where the power comes and goes without warning.
Meanwhile, sensing the urgency of the worst power crisis in recent years, the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, has convened a meeting of all Jammu Deputy Commissioners to review the overall power scenario.
“The Divisional Commissioner has called a meeting of all Deputy Commissioners of Jammu to discuss the power crisis,” said Rajesh Sharma, a senior PDD official.
