SRINAGAR: Kashmir is expected to witness eight-hour long power cuts from October-end as the work on Alasteng power project is pending due to prevailing shutdown.
The project conceived six-years ago would have enhanced grid capacity in the Valley making it easier for the state to purchase energy from outside states in winters, when demand for power supply drastically shoots up. This meant the government would not be able to make purchases as only 85 percent of work on the project is complete, a top engineer in power development department told Kashmir Reader.
According to him, power supply will get affected by the end of this month and will prolong throughout the winter if the project remains incomplete. He cited the prevailing situation which affected works as the reason for the delay.
As per the initial details, the engineer said, metered areas will face six hour cuts and unmetered areas will have to brace up for eight hour curtailment schedule.
“I will be happy if there will be only six hour cuts in metered areas during November but given the situation, it is going to be more and will stay till November,” he said, adding, if the project remains incomplete till December, then the curtailment schedule will follow.
During winters, which begin from November onwards, Kashmir faces scheduled as well as unscheduled power cuts for hours. This problem mainly occurs because the power department cannot supply the required energy in absence of power infrastructure. Six years ago, the state government conceptualised Alasteng project to put in place the required infrastructure.
“The project was to connect a stretch of 45 kilometres with infrastructure which included 161 towers,” an engineer privy to the project said. The project, according to him, is going to augument the grid capacity in such a way that it would supply the energy to central Kashmir including Srinagar from two sources against the current arrangement of only one. However, in north Kashmir, power scenario is by and large is going to remain the same.

Junaid Nabi Bazaz