Regional Indian Governments Fail to Improve Transmission & Distribution Losses

Despite receiving grants from government of India for controlling transmission and distribution losses, Kashmir and Jammu have failed to show any notable improvement in controlling the losses.

The transmission and distribution losses was highest (65.78 percent) for 2011-12, (60.99) percent for 2010-11 and around (59.72) percent for last fiscal.

The sources in PDD said that state has even failed to meet the guidelines set by the Union Power Ministry to bring down the losses by three percent annually. The Government has faced embarrassing moments many a time before the Planning Commission of India for failing to control the T&D losses.

The PDD officials admitted Jammu and Kashmir is the only state in India, where about 70 percent energy is lost due to power pilferage and tramsmission and distribution losses and the state cannot afford this huge deficit for a long.

The transmission and distribution loses have also complicated problem for them to meet the domestic power crisis. However, PDD is planning to introduce a multi -pronged strategy to bring a turnaround in the power sector with emphasis on energetic inspections, 100 percent metering and effective implementation of relevant laws to cap pilferages at various levels as also to affect targeted recoveries precisely.

“Necessary reforms are being introduced in the state to bridge the gap between energy supply and revenue collection and to control the transmission and distribution losses. The government was endeavoring hard to provide power to the people round the clock for both domestic and commercial purposes and for achieving this goal the full collection of tariff is very important,” the PDD officials added.

The PDD has changed its winter power curtailment schedule. The department has so far imported power worth Rs 3100 crores from the northern grid to meet its domestic consumption. .

During the last financial year, state government had imported highest ever power worth Rs 3100 crores from the northern grid to meet domestic consumption of 1000 MWs. However, in 2012, the government had imported power worth around Rs 28 crores from northern grid.

The state government has imported the power against a revenue collection of half of the total amount. The state government has collected revenue worth Rs 1800 crores during the last financial year from its registered consumers.

“Last winter we have imported power worth Rs 3100 crores from northern grid to meet the domestic demand. This is highest ever money spent on power imports,” said a senior PDD official.

The PDD is saying that they are bound to import additional power from the northern grid with the increasing power consumption in the state. “This season, our power demand exceeded to 1200 MWs during peak hours, with the availability of 700 MWs from varies power projects,” the official said.

Jammu and Kashmir requires 2,400 MW of power, of which only 1,400 MW is available. There is a shortfall of 1,000 MW. The state purchased power worth Rs.3, 600 crore in the year 2011-12, against which the sales revenue generated was Rs.1, 200 crore only.