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| Don't penalize honest consumers for paying electricity bill in time: BJP | |
Jammu, October 30 (Scoop News)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Jammu and Kashmir, raised serious concerns over the functioning of Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL) and Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL), alleging deficiencies in transparency, regional equity, consumer services and grievance redressal. The party demanded immediate relief for consumers facing inflated bills, defective smart meters and excessive power cuts.
Former MLC and spokesperson Girdhari Lal Raina, along with spokesperson Dr. Abhijeet Jasrotia, addressed a press conference at BJP headquarters, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu, while State Media In-charge Dr. Pardeep Mahotra outlined the subject.
Demanding Separate Reporting and Accountability, Raina pointed out that despite the legal unbundling of JPDCL and KPDCL from PDD in October 2019, their performance is often presented through combined figures, concealing regional deficiencies. He stressed that the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) has also called for granular, circle-wise and subdivision-wise reporting of Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses.
Citing reported figures, he said JPDCL recorded AT&C losses of 27.45% in FY 2024–25 against 33.54% for KPDCL, with losses reaching 46% in certain KPDCL feeder areas compared to around 20% in some JPDCL areas. He demanded independent assessments of both corporations and said that Jammu’s consumers must not pay for systemic failures.
Raina further questioned loss-linked power curtailment schedules, under which feeder-level losses reportedly determine power cuts, penalizing honest, bill-paying consumers for electricity theft, revenue leakage and distribution inefficiencies. Defective, damaged and non-communicating smart meters, coupled with delayed replacements, further aggravate outages and consumer hardship.
On Smart Metering and Inflated Bills, Raina highlighted reports of thousands of defective meters and demanded an authoritative count, time-bound replacement and accountability of installation and maintenance agencies. He said inaccurate meter recording or transmission leads to estimated or average billing and unexpectedly high bills. Consumers must receive transparent billing calculations, prompt correction of disputed bills and effective grievance redressal.
Questioning RDSS Implementation, Dr. Jasrotia criticized Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over the government's inconsistent position on smart metering. He highlighted the Centre's ₹5,641.91 crore sanction under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) for smart prepaid meters and infrastructure upgrades through both corporations. The scheme targets AT&C losses of 12–15% and elimination of the gap between Average Cost of Supply (ACS) and Average Realizable Revenue (ARR). He blamed inadequate progress by the NC government and demanded corporation-wise details of expenditure, implementation and measurable outcomes, questioning the NC government's progress.
Jasrotia highlighted the Five-Point Demands by BJP, including Separate JPDCL and KPDCL performance data, including circle-wise and subdivision-wise AT&C losses. Transparent audit of power procurement, allocation, billing, revenue realization and curtailment. Time-bound replacement of defective smart meters and correction of inaccurate bills. Review of loss-linked power cuts to protect honest consumers. Time-bound grievance redressal with clearly fixed accountability.
The BJP asserted that electricity is an essential public service, not a privilege, and honest consumers must not suffer for administrative failures, faulty meters and distribution inefficiencies.
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