No More power outages in Kishtwar, Doda

 JK Govt approves construction of Rs 1000 Cr Transmission System coming financial Year

Srinagar, Feb 3: In a major boost to the power sector in twin districts of Doda and Kishtiwar, for the first time after independence transmission Line of 220 kV Grid Station at Ramban and the 132 kV Grid Station at Khellani has been established.

 

According to the senior PDD officials the line would also serve as an alternate source of power to the said Districts in addition to the existing 132 kV Single Circuit Udhampur – Dul Hasti Line (UDH Tx Line) owned by NHPC.

 

Notably, the UDH Tx Line was established more than three decades ago, during the initiation of the Dul Hasti Project for meeting the construction power requirements of the project and local power demand of the Kishtwar area.

“ With the rated transmission capacity of nearly 75 MW, the UDH Tx line has been catering to the power requirements of the twin Districts since then without undergoing any augmentation or upgradation although the load requirement has increased manifold up to 200MW, necessitating curtailment in both the Districts especially during winters,” senior officials told Kashmir Convenor.

The existing UDH Tx Line  has become susceptible to damages, causing frequent and prolonged power outages in the Districts withstanding weather vagaries for decades together.

 

“Being laid in Radial configuration, and in the absence of any alternate transmission system laid in the area, the Districts were suffering from widespread black-outs affecting power supply to a consumer base of around one Lakh ten thousand, in case of any faults/breakdowns in the said UDH Tx Line,” PDD officials said.

 

Regarding the new transmission line, PDD officials said the new 132 kV double-circuit Transmission Line laid from Ramban to Khellani, commissioned on 1st February 2024, has a power transmission capacity of 150 MW (each circuit ~ 75 MW), which will increase the overall power transmission capacity for the twin districts by three times.

“The line will not only contribute to meeting the required power demand of the twin Districts but will also provide an alternate source for supplying power in addition to the existing UDH Tx Line of NHPC. In case of any failure/breakdown in any one of the lines, the power would be supplied from the other line,” they said.

 

They added that    the construction of the 132 kV double-circuit Ramban to Khellani Transmission Line commenced some years back. “However, due to various technical issues, the project faced delays and the works were held up.  Recently, with the concerted efforts of the government, all the bottlenecks impeding the construction of the Line were removed/addressed and the works were awarded afresh to Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), a CPSU of the Government of India.”

 PGCIL took up the work on a war footing and commissioned the transmission line ahead of the target, facilitating relief to the public of Doda & Kishtwar by way of enhanced Transmission Capacity, PDD officials said.

 

    The Line will ensure improved reliability of Power Supply to residents of twin Districts. Besides, improving the reliability/ adequacy of construction power requirements of projects, thereby helping to fast-track development of Power Generation Projects in the Region.

 

Moreover the feeding Grids i.e. Khellani (20+50 MVA) is also being augmented to 100 MVA (50 MVA + 50 MVA), the contract of which stands awarded and the other Grid 2×20 MVA Katersamna is shortly being augmented to 70 MVA (20+50MVA) thereby making Doda and Kishtwar Districts self-sufficient as far as power is concerned and to much relief to the public of these two Districts.

 

Meanwhile to enhance robustness of the transmission system, the Government of J&K has accorded approval for construction of Transmission System worth Rs. 1000 Cr in the coming Financial Year, which includes construction of three major 400 kV & 220 kV level Grid Stations in Jammu Region at Akhnoor, Rajouri and Katra and two Grid Stations in Kashmir Region, at Wahipora and Sallar.

Likewise, in the Distribution Sector, the implementation of the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) is currently underway, which is poised to bring about a complete turn-around in the sector.

On the supply side, the Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) Capacity has been doubled ensuring sufficient share of renewables in the generation mix. This collective effort signifies a substantial stride toward enhancing the resilience and efficiency of the power infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir, ultimately contributing to the region's sustained development.