Centre reviews J&K power, urban infra; 5 grid stations inaugurated, UT told to expedite smart metering
New Delhi: Union minister for power and housing & urban affairs Manohar Lal on Thursday reviewed the power and urban development sectors in Jammu & Kashmir during a meeting held in Srinagar, attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, senior officials of the Union Territory, Central Public Sector Enterprises and the Government of India.
The UT administration highlighted the role of the
Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme
(RDSS) in strengthening the power distribution network, particularly in remote areas, and thanked the Union Minister for approving revised cost estimates under the scheme.
Issues related to upgradation of the power distribution and transmission system were raised by the UT, with a request for continued support from the central government. The Chief Minister thanked the Union Minister for his visit and underlined the UT's commitment to improving the sector.
Union Minister Manohar Lal asked the UT administration to plan for capacity augmentation as per the Resource Adequacy Plan. He commended efforts to reduce the gap between power purchase cost and revenue and emphasised that such measures will help improve the financial health of power utilities and ensure reliable supply.
He advised the UT to fast-track implementation of prepaid smart metering, beginning with government establishments and extending to commercial and industrial consumers. He added that the government should saturate prepaid metering for all government departments and colonies by August 2025.
The Union Minister also highlighted the need to resolve pending issues in ongoing NHPC hydro projects to enable their early completion and called on the UT to consider waiving the water cess levied on hydro projects to reduce power costs. He said the UT should coordinate with the Centre to build skills among the local workforce for hydro projects.
The Minister assured full support from the central government for the overall development of the UT.
During the visit, the Union Minister inaugurated the following grid infrastructure augmentation works:
1. Augmentation of 132/33 kV Grid Station Awantipora from 145 MVA to 175 MVA.
2. Augmentation of Grid Station Wanpoh, including replacement of a 20 MVA, 132/33 kV power transformer with a 50 MVA transformer.
3. Augmentation of Grid Substation Amargarh from 135 MVA to 195 MVA.
4. Augmentation of Grid Substation Magam from 100 MVA to 130 MVA.
5. Replacement of a 50 MVA transformer bank at Kulgam Grid Station with an 80/100 MVA unit along with related upgrades such as bus strengthening and equipment replacement.
The Union Minister stated that the visit was aimed at facilitating resolution of pending issues and identifying new initiatives to enhance services in the UT.
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