Heat wave shoots up power consumption in Kashmir

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Department today said the electricity consumption in the Jammu division has increased this year due to heat wave conditions, forcing the department to supply additional power to the region. The energy consumption in Jammu region between June 9 and June 15 has been 952.71 lakh units as against 914.30 lakh units during the corresponding period last year, a spokesman of the department said. [caption id=“attachment_350498” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Power consumption has shot up in Jammu and Kashmir.”]  [/caption] “Despite shortage of power by 152 megawatts due to low generation locally, the department taking cognizance of the harsh weather conditions has supplied additional 38 lakh units to Jammu region,” the spokesman said. Several protests have been held in the Jammu district, the winter capital of the state, against power outages. BJP yesterday announced a ‘Jail Bharo’ agitation from June 22 to protest against the power and water crises in the region. The spokesman said the department has “to maintain grid discipline and to avoid instability” and has to stick to allocation schedule of the northern grid. “Overdrawing of power from the northern grid leads to grid instability leading the entire region of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, UP and Delhi to prolonged power cuts,” he said. To avoid such situations, he said, warnings are issued for immediate load shedding and the state has to pay five times the normal rate for this unscheduled interchange. “This year from June 11 to June 16 the state received 49 such warning messages,” the spokesman said. PTI