Srinagar, Oct 17: The Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) has implemented a revised Load Curtailment Plan (LCP) across Kashmir from Saturday, with consumers in rural areas facing up to eight hours of daily power cuts, while curtailment in Srinagar city will range from half an hour to three hours.
According to the schedule, curtailment hours have been fixed feeder-wise across the Valley, taking into account metering and cabling status, essential services and designated round-the-clock power supply feeders.
Under the revised plan, areas with Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses exceeding 65 per cent will face eight hours of daily power cuts. Areas with losses between 40.5 and 65 per cent will face six hours of curtailment, while those with losses between 15 and 40.5 per cent will have three hours of scheduled cuts. Areas with AT&C losses between zero and 15 per cent will face half an hour of daily curtailment.
In Srinagar city, metered, cabled and designated 24×7 feeders under STD-I and STD-II will face power cuts ranging from 0.5 to three hours daily. However, essential feeders supplying hospitals, Government Medical College (GMC), SMHS Hospital, district hospitals, water supply schemes and other emergency services have been kept at zero or half an hour of curtailment.
Non-cabled and non-metered feeders in rural areas, including Pulwama, Bijbehara, Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Baramulla, Sopore, Kupwara and Budgam, will face six to eight hours of power cuts daily, depending on the applicable schedule.
Industrial estates, including Lassipora, and other designated industrial feeders have been kept at zero hours of curtailment.
An official said the revised plan also expands round-the-clock electricity supply. Of the 1,335 feeders under KPDCL’s jurisdiction, 85 additional feeders have been brought under the 24×7 supply category, taking the number of such feeders from 129 under the previous plan to 214. The newly included feeders have AT&C losses below 20 per cent, the official said.
The Power Development Department (PDD) has maintained that the measures are aimed at improving billing and collection efficiency and reducing AT&C losses. In January this year, the department had directed Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL) and KPDCL to initiate strict action against officials of divisions and feeders reporting AT&C losses above 40 per cent, including salary deductions of up to 50 per cent.
The revised curtailment schedule covers thousands of 11-kV feeders across various Sub-Transmission Divisions, including 2nd, Bijbehara, Ganderbal, IST, Pulwama and Sopore. It provides feeder-wise details of receiving stations, feeder codes, feeder names and scheduled curtailment hours.
Consumers have been advised to check the official KPDCL schedule for timings applicable to their respective feeders.
The revised winter curtailment plan comes amid rising electricity demand and limited power availability, officials said.
