In a bid to check power theft, old aluminium electric supply wires are being replaced with low tension aerial bunched cables (LT-AB) in the Kashmir valley with the support of police as incidents of physical assault of the workforce have been received from many areas.

Electricity consumers in various areas were resisting installation of theft-proof cables by the workforce.

A spokesman of the Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) said on Monday that there have been reports where manpower of the executing agencies has been physically assaulted for laying of LT-AB cable and removal of bare conductor.

“Complaints of physical assault have been received from parts of Srinagar city, Ganderbal, Kupwara and Budgam districts,” he said. Police and district administration were accompanying the workforce to prevent them from being assaulted.

In order to check power pilferage and bring down losses in unmetered flat-rate areas, Kashmir DISCOM is conducting calibrated load rationalization, based on actual electricity usage by the domestic consumers.

The KPDCL has issued strict directions to all electric subdivisions to carry out door-to-door inspection, focusing particularly on high value consumers, whose agreement load is significantly lower than actual consumption.

The spokesperson stated that under the flagship Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) of Government of India, LT network and smart metering projects are being implemented to bring about a complete turnaround in the power sector, with the ultimate goal of providing uninterrupted and affordable power supply to its consumers.

“All 13 packages related to loss reduction works are in progress in 10 districts of Kashmir division under which DT substations and LT-AB cables are being laid,” he said, while urging consumers to facilitate the executing agencies in laying of new distribution infrastructure and upgradation of existing infrastructure in a hassle-free manner.

Urging the consumers to not confuse load calibration with tariff hike which falls entirely within the domain of Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission, the spokesman stated that decks have also been cleared for smart metering of flat-rated consumers, which shall empower them with better control over their budget and real-time monitoring of consumption patterns.

It is worth mentioning that Jammu and Kashmir accounted for 41% Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) power losses in 2023-24 which was perhaps highest in the country.

Only 32% power consumers in Kashmir have electricity meters on their premises, while 68% domestic consumers were paying the tariff on fixed rates. Against 982125 domestic consumers in the valley, a majority of 663520 are being charged on a flat rate basis.