Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today said major interventions are being made by the Government in the power sector, both on generation and distribution fronts, to improve electricity supply in the State. She said the government’s thrust is on upgrading transmission and distribution network to tide over T&D losses.“To overcome the distressing power scenario, the Government is working on a comprehensive roadmap to augment the generation, transmission and distribution systems so that quality power supply is ensured to the consumers,” the Chief Minister said while addressing a public gathering at Jatwal in district Samba this afternoon where she dedicated to the people a Grid Station and Transmission Line.Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh, Minister of State for Power, Syed Farooq Andrabi, Member Parliament, Jugal Kishore, Vice-Chairman, SC Board, Mr Bushan Dogra and MLA Hiranagar, Kuldeep Raj were also present.The Chief Minister hailed the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) for completing and commissioning the ambitious Grid Station project at Jatwal well ahead of schedule.
“Power sector is crucial to J&K’s economy and this is one of the sectors which has a cascading effect on every other sector,” the Chief Minister said and added that the Power Development Department (PDD) will have to firm up timelines to ensure timely execution of projects. “The power scenario remains sluggish and we need to do more as the state has the potential to generate far more,” she observed.Chief Minister asked PDD to avoid unscheduled power cuts especially during the peak hours so that people are not put to any inconvenience in the winter capital amid scorching heat. She said the consumers should be informed in advance about the power curtailment schedule, if any to be implemented, during any exigencies.The Chief Minister called for expediting works under R-APDRP (Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme) and DDUGJY to augment the power supply position in the State.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. “RAPDRP has already missed the deadline and the thrust should be on completing the project ahead of the fresh deadline of March 2017,” she maintained.
Addressing the gathering, Dy Chief Minister said the government is working hard to increase the power generation sources and work on various new power projects is being carried out in this regard to improve supply.He said implementation of RAPDRP and DDUGJY will go a long way in improving the power supply position in the State, where the consumers are put to immense inconvenience because of distress cuts and low voltage. “While the people are facing lot of inconvenience due to power outages during sweltering summer heat in Jammu region, those in Kashmir are facing similar hardships during harsh winters,” he said and added that implementation of RAPDRP and DDUGJY would to a great extent in streamlining the power distribution mechanism in the State.Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Power, Syed Farooq Andrabi said the Government has launched a massive power infrastructure upgradation programme under various schemes. He urged the people to make judicious use of power and pay electricity fee regularly to tide over the revenue losses in the power sector.MP, Jugal Kishore and MLA Kuldeep Raj also addressed the gathering.
Pertinently, the 2x315MVA, 400/220KV Jatwal (Samba) Grid Station was commissioned for construction under Northern Region System Strengthening Scheme XXII at a cost of Rs 209.73 crore on 31 March 2013 for its utilization for evacuation of power by J&K. The Grid Station has two number 315MVA, ICT with 35 KM feeding 400 KV double circuit line from Kishenpur to Jatwal.With the commissioning of this Grid Station the power supply position in Jammu would be augmented by around 220KV with additional availability of power for industries in these areas. There will be massive reduction in transmission losses and improved voltage profile.Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Kumar Choudhary, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Dr Pawan Kotwal, Deputy Commissioner Samba, Sheetal Nanda, Executive Director PGCIL, Mr Anil Jain, Chief Engineer PDD Jammu and other senior officers of the district administration, PGCIL and PDD were present on the occasion.