Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) Manoj Sinha recently met Union Power & NRE Minister R. K. Singh in New Delhi – in the wake of rising power demand in the UT, as a result of economic growth and increasing electrification, during the ongoing winter season.
Sinha informed that the current demand of J&K has touched around 2,800 MW with a deficit of approximately 1,400 MW in the current winter season. He requested the Union Power Minister for allocating more power to the UT. Union Power Minister apprised LG that the Ministry of Power (MoP) has already allocated 1,500 MW from ‘central pool’ to meet the winter requirements of J&K. Further, 472 MW is also allocated under Shakti policy, for which, Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Power department of J&K is proposed to be signed by the end of Dec, 23. Overall, 1,972 MW of additional allocation has been made by the Central Government (CG) to take care of the urgent power requirement of the Union Territory. The minister directed the officers of the Ministry of Power to ensure adequate allocation of Power to the UT of J&K to meet the rising demand.
Singh reviewed various programmes of the MoP being implemented in the UT, under Central Sector Schemes. He has directed the concerned agencies to expedite the ongoing projects related to transmission lines, smart meters and other distribution infrastructure works – and instructed that all the remaining projects should be awarded by the end of December 2023.
