Inspection squads to crack down on power theft in J-K

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To prevent the high incidence of electricity theft in Jammu and Kashmir, especially during the winter months, Jammu and Kashmir government has formed inspection squads which are to ensure that the power infrastructure does not suffer damage due to overloading.
"We have formed several inspection squads which are carrying out checks in various areas to curb the growing trend of power theft during winter months," said Bashir Ahmad Khan, Chief Engineer of the Power Development Department.
The use of electricity in Kashmir increases by at least two times as consumers use heating gadgets to beat the bone- chilling cold.
Consumers should realise that by resorting to stealing power, they are ultimately putting themselves and their neighbourhoods in trouble, Khan said.

"The system is designed to operate at a certain load and it will certainly develop snags, like transformer damage, in case of overloading. People have to realise this and cooperate with us," he said.
Load shedding still becomes an imperative given that the Valley receives only 1100 megawatts against an estimated requirement of 1500 megawatts, Khan added.

His department recently announced a weekly curtailment of 57 hours in non-metered areas and 17 hours in metered areas.
"Although the schedule has been announced, we are yet to fully implement it. We are still providing more electricity to the consumers in non-metered areas than the scheduled supply," Khan said.

Opposition PDP and some other political parties have, meanwhile, slammed the state government for the new power curtailment schedule.