Metering promise of better power supply completely opposite on ground, say Bandipora residents

Bandipora, Mar 24: A week after residents complained about prolonged and irregular power cuts in Bandipora town, locals have now alleged that the department was acting casually with erratic electricity supply also contributing to higher electricity bills, prompting them to formally petition the Power Development Department (PDD).

Residents of Naaz Colony, Plan, Nowpora, Nearbrepora and other areas in the district headquarters said the electricity supply remains highly irregular despite the installation of meters years ago, and even upgrading them over the years to smart meters and installation of infrastructure for effective metering, the repeated complaints to the department for better supply are going unheard.

Residents of Naaz Colony in Bandipora have written representation to the Executive Engineer of the PDD, accusing the department of failing to ensure stable electricity supply despite the introduction of electricity meters.

In their representation, the residents said the public had been assured that the installation of meters would ensure uninterrupted electricity and better service delivery.

“Acting as responsible citizens, we trusted the department and got the meters installed with the expectation of better services. However, the ground reality has turned out to be completely opposite,” the residents wrote. They said electricity supply in the area remains highly irregular, with frequent and unpredictable power cuts disrupting daily life.

According to the residents, the erratic pattern of electricity supply is also indirectly leading to increased electricity bills. They said that during cold weather, households depend heavily on electrical appliances such as blowers, heaters and geysers. “Because of long and uncertain power cuts, people are forced to use heating appliances immediately when electricity returns. This sudden and concentrated usage puts heavy load on the meters and eventually results in higher billing,” the residents said in the representation.

They alleged that the department’s inability to maintain a consistent supply was effectively increasing the financial burden on consumers.Residents said the issue was not limited to a few households but was affecting several localities across the town. “It is extremely frustrating that instead of improvement after metering, the situation appears to be deteriorating,” the residents said. They also claimed that the issue had been raised earlier through multiple channels but no effective action had been taken. The residents have demanded immediate intervention to ensure stable and predictable electricity supply.

They warned that if the issue was not addressed promptly, the matter would be escalated to higher authorities, including the district administration.

Last week, residents from several areas of Bandipora town, including Plan, Nowpora, Nearbrepora and Naaz Colony, had complained of prolonged and irregular power cuts, saying the outages were affecting businesses and daily life. At the time, Assistant Executive Engineer, PDD, Manzoor Ahmad Mir, had said the outages were due to limited power supply from receiving stations and that cuts were being implemented depending on losses recorded on each feeder.

He had said feeders with losses above 40 per cent faced power cuts of up to six hours, while feeders with lower losses experienced shorter outages.

Meanwhile, delegation from villages in Bandipora said the power scenario was worse.