By IANS,
Srinagar/Jammu: To give some relief to the electricity-starved Valley, the Jammu and Kashmir government Monday decided to operate its gas turbine power generating unit which would give an additional 80 megawatt electric power during the peak evening hours.
“The department has decided to put into operation gas turbines immediately to give further relief to the people,” a statement issued by the development commissioner (power) said here,
The statement said the electricity supply level has gone up to 951 MW and the effort of the development would be to increase it further to 1100 MW-level in the coming days.
It said 5,809 lakh units of power were supplied in December 2011, about 10 percent more than the 5,300 lakh units of electricity supplied in December 2010.
“The department requests the people to minimize the consumption of electricity as per the agreed load to avoid over-heating and consequent burning of the distribution transformers which may lead to avoidable inconvenience to the people,” the statement added.
As per Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the state government has spent Rs.2,330 crore for the purchase of power from the northern grid in the ongoing financial year, while its total revenue realisation by December-end stood at Rs.722 crore, a gap of Rs.1,608 crore.
The power development department has also been citing low water discharge in the local rivers and pilferage by the consumers as the main reasons for the deteriorating power scenario in the Valley.
With the government unable to provide round-the-clock supply to consumers, there have been protests at many places in the Valley during the last month with people blocking highways to protest against the erratic power supply during the sub-zero winter temperatures.
The power shutdowns have created a highly volatile situation like the one in Boniyar village in Baramullah district in north Kashmir Monday where a youth was killed and two others injured when Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel opened fire at demonstrators protesting the power shortage.