Govt cracks whip on power utilities over mounting losses

Srinagar, Jan 9: Power Development Department (PDFD) has issued a directive to all power sector corporations in Jammu and Kashmir, ordering immediate corrective measures to improve billing efficiency and drastically reduce Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses, which it described as a major cause of the sector’s deepening financial crisis.

In an official letter, addressed to the Managing Directors of Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation, Jammu and Kashmir Power Corporation Limited, Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited, Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited, and Jammu and Kashmir Power Transmission Corporation Limited, the department warned that inefficiencies and poor revenue realisation would no longer be tolerated.

Calling for urgent action to contain the rising power purchase bill, the department directed JKPCL to explore interstate cooperation during the winter.

“In addition, JKPCL should explore other options, including entering into additional banking arrangements with other states for the period from January 2026 to March 2026 to curtail the power purchase bill,” the PDD said.

To directly link supply with performance, the department ordered a revised load curtailment plan strictly based on feeder-wise losses.

“Feeders having losses below 15 percent won’t be subjected to any curtailment. Feeders with losses between 15 percent to 40 percent will be subjected to curtailment of 3 hours instead of the existing 2 hours. Feeders with losses above 40 percent will be subjected to curtailment of 6 hours instead of the existing 4 hours,” the letter spells out.

On accountability, the department adopted an unusually tough tone, directing distribution companies to fix responsibility at the field level.

The directive instructs, “DISCOMs should issue show-cause notices to the concerned divisions, sub-divisions, and feeders where AT&C losses are more than 40 percent.”

It also warned of financial penalties on officials, saying, “Action may also be initiated for the deduction of 50 percent salary of the concerned officers and officials posted in such high-loss areas.”

The department has also set strict deadlines for metering and surveillance to plug leakages.

Emphasising prepaid smart metering, the letter says, “All high-power consumers should be covered under prepaid smart metering by January 31, 2026, without any further delay.”

For non-metered areas, the department has ordered on-ground verification backed by digital evidence, saying, “Dedicated teams should verify the load agreements in non-metered areas and the verification should be supported by phone or video recordings.”

The directive comes at a time when Jammu and Kashmir’s power sector is facing one of its most severe financial crunches.

Official records reveal that J&K’s total accrued power purchase liability has reached Rs 4751 crore as of September 30, with arrears spread across almost all major power suppliers.

The largest outstanding dues, amounting to Rs 2675 crore, are owed to J&K’s own generation utilities, including the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation and the Baglihar Hydroelectric Project.

Officials said the crisis is rooted in chronic AT&C losses, with the cost of supplying power in Jammu and Kashmir estimated at around Rs 7 per unit against an average realisation of only Rs 2.5 per unit.

Over the past decade, J&K has spent more than Rs 55,254 crore on power purchases, yet structural issues like electricity theft, unmetered consumption, meter bypassing, and weak billing systems continue to erode revenues.