Kashmir’s winter power demand projected at 7,300 MU: Government
Srinagar, Oct 28: The government informed the Legislative Assembly that power demand in the Kashmir Valley for the upcoming winter has been projected at 7,300 million units (MU) while asserting that no unscheduled power cuts were imposed during the last winter despite a substantial rise in consumption.
In a written reply to MLA Abdul Majeed Larmi, the government said the total power demand of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh during winter 2024–25 stood at 11,323 MU, out of which 6,849.887 MU was consumed in the Kashmir Valley. The peak demand met during that period was 1,980 megawatts (MW).
"To meet the rising winter demand, the Jammu and Kashmir Power Corporation Limited procured 393 MW under the SHAKTI policy and received an additional 600 MW allocation from the Ministry of Power. A further 1,094 MW allocation was made by the Ministry to offset the shortage caused by a fall in hydro generation," the reply states.
The government stated that no unscheduled or distress cuts were imposed in the Valley between October 2024 and March 2025 and that detailed feeder-wise curtailment schedules were implemented. Scheduled curtailments were limited to zero hours for feeders with losses below 15 percent, two hours for those between 15–40 percent, and four hours for feeders exceeding 40 percent losses.
It said there would be no additional distress cuts in Kashmir during winter and none in Jammu during summer. Any distress cuts necessitated by power shortages are to be imposed only in Jammu from October to March and in Kashmir from April to September.
The reply further noted that unscheduled power cuts are mainly caused by system constraints and unmetered energy use. To tackle this, the department is strengthening infrastructure through UT CAPEX and CSS schemes and implementing smart meters to improve energy accounting and reduce outages.
According to the data placed before the House, unrestricted peak demand stood at 2,300 MW in 2022–23, 2,400 MW in 2023–24, and 2,300 MW in 2024–25, while peak demand met rose from 1,893 MW to 1,970 MW during the same period, indicating improved supply management.
Month-wise energy consumption data shows mixed trends. Consumption in April 2025 increased by 2.19 percent compared to the previous year. May saw a decline of 5.52 per cent, while August registered a rise of 3.48 percent.
The government also said that the Jammu and Kashmir Power Transmission Corporation Limited supplied a peak load of 1,970 MW in Kashmir last winter and has the capacity to supply up to 2,200 MW without system constraints.
It added that the earlier practice of increasing curtailment on account of higher losses has been discontinued. Instead, disciplinary action is now taken against officers who fail to bill or recover energy charges, leading to better billing, improved revenue recovery, and greater supply reliability.
The government maintained that continued procurement through central allocations, infrastructure upgrades, and the rollout of smart meters will help sustain reliability and meet the projected demand of 7,300 MU in the Kashmir Valley this winter.
