Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced on Thursday that the state government will provide 200 units of free electricity to consumers, but only after the installation of meters in households. The much-awaited scheme, which is expected to benefit a large number of residents, will be rolled out around March-April this year, contingent on the completion of the meter installation process.
Addressing a press conference, CM Abdullah explained that the distribution of free electricity would not be feasible without metering the consumption. “200 units free will be rolled out only after the areas are metered. How else would you measure the units? When we roll out this scheme in March-April, all can benefit from this scheme,” he said, clarifying the conditions under which the program would be implemented.
The Chief Minister also highlighted the ongoing challenges related to power supply in the region. “The electricity load that we have is much more than what we are supplying,” Abdullah stated. He pointed out that the state’s Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses are currently alarmingly high, at nearly 50%. He emphasized that while the state’s power consumption exceeds its supply, the completion of several under-construction power projects would eventually ease the strain. “The sooner our power projects which are being constructed here finish, we would be able to supply more electricity. We can bank it in summer and then supply it in winter,” he added.
With the goal of improving efficiency, the Chief Minister expressed his intention to reduce the AT&C losses. “Some states have pushed it to less than 10%. We have to try and push it to less than 20%,” he said, outlining a target to significantly reduce the region’s losses and improve power distribution.
