Efforts underway to ensure 100% smart metering in J&K by 2026: PDD

Jammu, Mar 5:  Stating that Jammu and Kashmir was the only union territory across the country where consumers were still provided electricity without meters, a spokesperson of the Power Development Department (PDD) Tuesday said that the areas saturated with smart meters were experiencing significantly reduced losses and improved power supply.

“Concerted efforts are underway to convert the entire consumer base of Jammu and Kashmir to the modern prepaid metering systems to ensure a better power supply,” the spokesman said rebutting reports being circulated across social media platforms, featuring women protesting against electricity meters.

He said that electricity was a commodity similar to other goods available in the market.

“It is important to recognise that electricity isn’t a free service. Rather, it incurs costs at every stage of its journey, from generation at the source to transmission and ultimately distribution. Often, consumers are only aware of the distribution agency, remaining unaware of the intermediate stages and entities involved in supplying electricity to them. At each juncture of the supply chain, accurate measurement of electricity is paramount to maintaining a supply-demand balance, ensuring the financial viability of the sector. Despite meticulous measurement throughout these stages, it’s worth noting that accurate measurement and accounting of electricity consumption at the consumers’ end remains a challenge in J&K,” the spokesman said. “In J&K, the electricity tariff being charged from consumers stands as one of the lowest across the country.”

He said that installing a smart electricity meter could help bear the load of shooting high energy prices and address the fundamental issues plaguing the distribution sector.

“Smart meters enable precise billing based on actual usage, eliminating the surprise of unexpectedly high bills due to inaccuracies. These tools can quickly detect power outages allowing for a faster response time to restore power. Customers can monitor their electricity usage in nearly real-time and make changes to their consumption patterns leading to lower electricity bills,” the spokesman said.

He said that the primary sufferers due to the deficient metering system were the consumers themselves, experiencing irregular and poor-quality power supply.

“As such, J&K has undertaken the smart meter installation in three phases under PMDP and RDSS schemes,” the spokesman said.

He said that the first phase which started in the year 2022 stands completed with the installation of 1.5 lakh smart meters in Srinagar and Jammu cities.

“The second phase covering 5.50 lakh smart meters is under implementation while the third phase, which comprises remaining 14 lakh smart meters, has also commenced, targeted for completion by 2026, thereby accomplishing 100 percent smart metering in J&K,” the spokesman said.

Regarding the pricing and electricity tariff rates being charged from consumers, he said that the rates were determined and approved by independent regulatory commissions and not by the DISCOMs taking into account various factors like cost of power purchase from generating companies, transmission expenses, staffing, and maintenance costs to ensure that consumers were charged fairly.

“In J&K, the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) is responsible for determining the electricity tariff,” the spokesman said. “This is evident from the fact that the metering percentage in J&K is distressingly low with only 51 percent of consumers metered and as such, being charged on a flat-rate basis. The flat rate bills, based on rough estimates, do not reflect the actual usage and are hence considered flimsy or unsubstantial even when electro-mechanical meters were in use. As such, in the present era, where energy measurements are digitally done right from the generating end, it is paramount to ensure accurate measurement at consumers’ end too.”

Regarding power availability, he said that there persists a misconception among consumers that J&K was a power surplus union territory due to its abundant water sources, however, the reality was that J&K relies solely on hydropower plants for electricity generation, which were subject to limitations due to seasonal dependence.

“The hydropower plants generate at their maximum capacity only during 4 to 5 months of peak water flow in rivers, while their generation diminishes for the rest of the year. Quantitatively, out of the existing installed generation capacity of 3500 MW, 1140 MW is contributed by J&K-owned plants, the main ones being 900 MW Baglihar, 110 MW Lower Jhelum, and 110 MW Upper Sindh, while the remaining 2300 MW comes from central sector plants such as Salal, Dul-Hasti, Uri, and Kishanganga,” the spokesman said. “During winters, powerhouses in J&K, under both central and state sectors, can only generate a maximum of 600 MW against their rated capacity of 3500 MW due to reduced water levels in the rivers.”

However, he said that with peak demand reaching up to 3200 MW during winters, it was evident that J&K's power demand could not be solely met by hydroelectric power plants.

“So the remaining power requirement during winters is met through thermal-based Central Generating Stations (CGS) situated outside J&K,” the spokesman said. “Moreover, it’s crucial to acknowledge that the J&K government has indeed made significant investments in recent years to harness the maximum hydro potential, with four mega Hydel Projects worth Rs 22,207 crore under development and agreements signed for four additional projects totalling Rs 29,600 crore. The development of hydropower plants entails huge investment. As such, the hydropower plants are developed on a debt-equity pattern, where a substantial amount is raised in the form of debt from financial institutions, which must be repaid to them through the sale of power once the plants become operational.”

He said that the debt was secured against a mortgage, encompassing all assets of the plant, including the dam, which were pledged to the financial institution providing the loan.

“Unfortunately, J&K faces challenges with low recovery rates. In the financial year 2022-23, while the power purchase cost amounted to Rs 9886 crore, the collection from the sale of power to consumers was only Rs 3652 crore,” the spokesman said. “Consequently, to clear power dues owed to generating companies, J&K has been compelled to avail loans totalling Rs 32,000 crore in the past two years alone under liquidity infusion schemes of the Centre, such as Atmaanirbhar Bharat and the LPS Rules 2022.”

He said that the claim of the protestors about 'our power, our water' was baseless, as consumers in this context were not producers but recipients of electricity supplied to them by various entities involved in the process.

“While water is abundant in J&K, generating electricity from it demands significant effort and investment. Additionally, hydropower alone is insufficient to meet the region's demand,” the spokesman said.