PDD purchases power worth Rs 3000 crores this year

Due to harsh winter this season, the power consumption bill of Jammu and Kashmir’s power development department has reached to a record high of around Rs 3000 crores.

 According the official figures, during the last financial year 2010-11, the PDD had purchased the power from the northern grid worth Rs 2600 crores, but due to the increasing demand of power during this winter, the increasing consumption of power has forced the state government to import additional power from the northern grid worth Rs 3000 crores.

 The PDD senior officials said that state has only around 750 Megawatts of power available with the state run power projects, but due to abnormal power load during peak hours, had forced the department to import the power around 300 Megawatts to met the growing demand of the power.

 The PDD officials maintained that for the first time in the last couple of years, power purchase bill of the State Government has touched Rs 3000 crores during the current financial year in view of increased demand of supply by their consumers in Kashmir valley and Jammu in summer.

 The official also stated that it would be an increase of nearly Rs 400 crore in the power purchase bill during 2011-12 as compared to 2010-11.

 The official records of the department also indicate that power consumption has gone up to an all time high at 3.5 lakh units per day. The State was at present generating just 30 per cent of the power consumed while rest 70 per cent was being purchased from northern grid.

 The department has collected only around Rs 2000 crores from the households and from the different departments. However, the department is optimistic that in the coming months remaining money would also be collected from the.

 “A large collection, especially from industrial sector and offices of both Central and State Governments, besides the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) pay in last half of the financial, as we are anticipating the revenue to cross four digits for the first time,” official also said.

 The sources in the department also said that during first plan meeting held between Planning and Finance Department with the Planning Commission of India, the State had sought an annual power grant of Rs 2000 crores from the Central Government till the State becomes self sufficient in power and was able to overcome a huge deficit between power purchase bill and revenue realization.

 The Planning Commission had agreed to give a sympathetic consideration to the demand projected by bureaucrats of the State Government. The State had been given Rs 1300 crores worth annual power grant for three years during the tenure of Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad as Chief Minister of the State.

 The special power grant was given during 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09. It was stopped after three years. The Government has been demanding the special power grant on the same pattern from Rs 1300 crores to Rs 2000 crores, sources said.

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The PDD (Power Development Department) may be having hundred and one answers to the question asked under the heading given to this article [ i. e. why can’t PDD make Sainik Colony free from cuts], but the reality is, that it is high time for the Department to stop gathering answers for this highlighted issue and be sincere in taking the responsibility for providing 24 hours electricity supply to the residents of the Sainik colony where almost all houses have since been installed with the Government desired electronic meters and the customers of this colony , who are graded to be the most honest consumers of the electricity, are paying their electricity bills very regularly . There is hardly any case in the colony where any outstanding electricity bill remains un cleared , unlike many of the Govt departments / agencies where outstanding bills for the electricity consumed , amounting in crores of rupees has been shown unpaid in the recent important headlines of the newspapers. The public has lost its patience to hear any more, the Govt's argument that due to power theft and because of the less load shown in the sanctioned electricity connections ,the power cuts are done to protect the installed transformer . Well, in the Sainik colony no visible power theft exists and if at all there is any one in the jughees of the labourers, it is purely with the connivance and blessings of the concerned electricity staff members who can be taken to tasks if the department is active and interested but definitely, for this act of the department , the residents of Sainik colony can't be penalised . 

It is a clear cut case of injustice with the people living in Sainik colony Jammu that they for absolutely no fault of theirs, are forced to bear the unlimited power cuts both during day and night and to have some other lighting arrangements, they go either for purchasing their own generators or lay hands on different types of inventors plus tubular batteries . Well, it sounds good to have these arrangements but in the present days of sky high pricing of these alternatives, can a common man easily afford items which could certainly be avoided if the PDD shoulders its due responsibility in providing electricity without any cut. 

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PDD warns disconnection of supply if bills not cleared

Electricity Department has taken exception to non-clearance of pending electricity bills from several areas falling under the jurisdiction of Electric EM&RE Division-III, Jammu and warned to disconnect supply if they did not deposit their power bills within one week.

The Executive Engineer Electric M&RE Division-III, Jammu, has stated that there were huge outstanding of electricity bills of consumers and the concerned public was not coming forward to deposit even at the fag end of the financial year.

In Jammu West area the consumers of Ban Talab, Rajpura, Gole Gujral and Domana have not cleared their dues while in Bhalwal block the consumers of Kot Bhalwal, Aghore, Gharota, Garkhal, Simbliwala and Dharamkhoo are yet to clear their pendinf power bills.

The power bills are also pending in Marh and Gajansoo areas of Marh block while the villages under Akhnoor block from where the power bills are yet to be recovered included Rabta, Mathwar, Sarote, Dori-Dager, Balli, Nathal, Kathar, migrant colonies of Gurha Jagir and Naiwala. In Khour block the people of Pargwal, Hamirpur, Pangali, Derian, Bhopar, Datyal, Nikkian and border areas of Khour are yet to clear their pending power bills.

The Executive Engineer concerned has warned that the power connection of all the people would be disconnected, if they failed to deposit their pending electricity charges within one week. He also stated that no further notice would be issued in this regard.

He added that to facilitate the general public in the matter, all the offices of Electrical Department of these areas would remain open on all holidays, including Sundays till March 31, 2012 and that J&K Bank branches are accepting all Electricity Bills even after expiry of their due date.

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New Power Tariff from Apr 1st

Unlike past, new power tariff will come into force from Apr 1

For first time, PDD, PDC submit ARR 

Tariff Petition to SERC on schedule

For the first time ever since Jammu and Kashmir State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) came into being, the Power Development Department and Power Development Corporation submitted their Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) and Tariff Petitions to the Commission on schedule. Due to this the new power tariff would come into force with the beginning of next financial year—2012-2013 instead of middle of the year as was the practice till now and mark increase in revenue for the State.

Official sources told JK Newsthat Power Development Department and Power Development Corporation have submitted Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) and Retail as well as Generation Tariff Petitions to the State Electricity Regulatory Commission headed by S M Desalphine.

"This is for the first time since 2004-05 when SERC came into being that PDD and PDC submitted ARR and Tariff Petitions in the month of January as till last year the same were being submitted to the Commission in June-July as a result of which the new tariff was coming into force from the month of October", sources said.

It is pertinent to mention here that prior to setting up of SERC the Power Development Department was determining the retail tariff without any fixed time-schedule or period and the Commission started fixing retail as well as generation power tariff from 2007-08 financial year.

"Even during last year due to delay in submission of ARR and Tariff Petitions, the issuance of order by the SERC for new tariff got delayed and the same was passed on October 4, 2011", sources said while disclosing that while issuing Tariff Order last year the Commission had also expressed concern over delay in the submission of ARR and Tariff Petitions and stressed the need to strictly comply with the schedule fixed for the same.

Disclosing that as per the State Electricity Regulatory Act and Rules the Commission has to issue new tariff order within 120 days from the receipt of Annual Revenue Requirement and Retail and Generation Tariff Petitions from the PDD and PDC, sources said that Commission has already started its exercise on the petitions and it would be for the first time that new tariff would come into force from April 1, 2012 for the financial year 2012-13.

To a question, sources said that while going through the detailed exercise spread over 120 days, the Commission will seek all such details which were not submitted by PDD and PDC despite repeated directions.

"The slow pace of metering of connections despite the fact that same is vital component of the reforms in the power sector, delay in conducting feeder wise energy audits, not much progress in containing Transmission and Distribution losses, slow progress in revision of agreements of all categories of consumers to assess realistic connected load and also the maximum demand would be on top agenda of the Commission before determining retail tariff of the Power Development Department", sources said.

They disclosed that since most of the directives of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission have not been strictly complied by the PDD, the Commission is likely to go tough in getting the same implemented in letter and spirit.