Srinagar April 17 (KNS): Chief Engineer power development department, Aijaz Ah Dar on Saturday urged people to desist from using heating appliances lavishly during Sehri and Iftaar time for the purposes of uninterrupted power supply to consumers. KPDCL at present is supplying around 16% more energy as compared to last year. Morning peak (sehri time) load touched 1631 MWs on 15 Apr. which is the highest load recorded ever (avg. being around 1500 MWs) CE PDD said.

Consumers are requested to rationalize their load & avoid using heating gadgets at Sehri and Iftaar time in order to avoid unscheduled cuts.

He said that extra load on power feeder during peak times is the cause of power breakdown in many areas across Kashmir.

Chief Engineer’s statement on frequent power breakdown comes a day after ‌people from many North and South Kashmir complained that the Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) has failed to adhere to the power schedule even in the holy month of Ramadan, leaving the residents across Kashmir valley to suffer.

People in few parts of Srinagar have complained of inadequate electricity, saying that the department has failed to ensure adequate electricity even in the holy month of Ramadan.

‘We are facing erratic power cuts despite being assured adequate electricity in the ongoing holy month of Ramadan,’ says a local from North Kashmir

‘The department has even failed to ensure the electricity during Sehri and Iftari time,’ another local from central Kashmir said.

However, the slight drop in temperature has resulted in additional load on the system

Chief Engineer PDD, Aijaz Ah Dar while speaking to KNS, said that the people should make judicious use of power during the month of Ramzan to have an uninterrupted power supply.

Compared to last year, we are supplying 47 lac additional units of energy means supplying an additional 200 MW of power round the clock.

He said that the department during the winter was running 700 Megawatt down to meet the actual demand of consumers during winters. “There need 2200 Megawatts in the valley but we are only providing 1500 Megawatts. At this moment the demand is still 1950 MWs. This is forcing us to go for curtailment, he added.

This may be true that some areas may have power cuts during Iftar or Sehri time, but we are trying our best to have a sufficient power supply to everyone. I again request people to make judicious use of electricity, he added. (KNS)