Jammu Ends Power Cuts Amidst Scorching Heat: 24/7 Supply to Smart Metered Areas Announced

The Jammu Power Development Corporation Ltd (JPDCL) has revoked its power cut schedule, promising round-the-clock electricity for smart metered areas and up to 20 hours for others. Improvements in power infrastructure and additional power purchases facilitated this change. The MD urged prudent electricity use due to high demand from the heatwave.

The Jammu Power Development Corporation Ltd (JPDCL) on Wednesday revoked its power cut decree, announcing a round-the-clock supply of electricity to smart metered areas and up to 20 hours to other areas in Jammu. With Jammu facing extreme heat for the past two weeks, the JPDCL had announced a four-hour cut every day for urban areas and an eight-hour cut for rural areas. The curtailments were scheduled to take place in the morning, afternoon, and evening. The corporation's Managing Director Vikas Kundal issued a public notice stating the immediate withdrawal of the curtailment schedule. Kundal attributed the change to improvements in power infrastructure, which included capacity enhancement and repair of critical transformers at the Samba and Miran Sahib grid stations. He said that while smart metered areas will receive uninterrupted power, other areas will have power for up to 20 hours a day.

However, distressed curtailments may still occur to protect critical infrastructure, he said. The MD urged the public to use electricity prudently due to the high demand driven by the heatwave. He also reminded residents to pay their electricity bills promptly, whether online or offline. During a visit to the state load dispatch corporation office, Kundal reviewed power availability for the Jammu region.

He said that with the purchase of an additional 200 MW of power, JPDCL can provide consistent power to smart metered areas and reduce curtailment hours in rural areas. Kundal instructed the officials to schedule maintenance and repair work to avoid long outages and prohibited shutdowns during the peak summer.

He also urged staff to crack down on illegal connections to ensure reliable service for honest consumers.