Ishfaq-ul-Hassan
SRINAGAR: Power Development Department (PDD) will be installing over 57000 App-based smart meters in Srinagar city in next three months to control the load and ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to consumers.
PDD is developing a mobile application so that consumers can check load and consumption on a real-time basis. Sources said Principal Secretary, PDD, Rohit Kansal is keen to do away with curtailment and provide relief to the consumers.
“PDD has launched a novel project of installing one lakh smart meters in Srinagar city. Under phase one, 57500 meters shall be installed in Srinagar city in the next three months. The consumer can be able to know his daily consumption, load, and bill on a real-time basis. This shall be accessed through a web portal. The consumer can download an app on his mobile phone to monitor his consumption,” Ajaz Ahmad Dar, chief engineer, PDD, told The Kashmir Monitor.
Besides, there is a comprehensive proposal of 100 percent metering in the entire Jammu and Kashmir in the next few years. “REC and PDCL will be installing 14 lakh meters across J&K in next few years,” he said.
Dar said currently, 60 percent of the areas are non-metered. “Had there been 100 percent metering, the demand would have been 400 megawatts less. We import 90 percent power this time around. During summer, water discharge is high. But in winter it drops, impacting the power generation,” he said.
He said the PDD is currently providing 1500 megawatts to the consumers in the valley. Last year, PDD was supplying 1225 Megawatt during this season. The demand for power is 2100 megawatts in the Kashmir division.
“This year, curtailment is 15 to 18 percent less than in 2019. Compared to 2.80 lakh units supplied per day last year, we supply 3.25 lakh units per day this year. Curtailment, except for some parts of north Kashmir, is 15 to 18 percent lesser than last year. Compared to the curtailment of seven hours in metered areas and 9 to 10 hours in non metered areas of Srinagar last year, this year load shedding is for four to five years in metered and 7.5 hours in non metered areas. This will continue in the future also,” he said.
Dar said the department is conducting on average 400 inspections and in 80 percent of cases violations have been detected. “In 80 percent cases, we have found people either resorting to illegal hooks or meter tampering. We have also detected a violation of the load agreement. These violations put extra load on the system and with the result, we have to go for curtailments during winter,” he said.
