J&K BJP demands accountability from power discoms over inflated bills, defective smart meters

Jammu, Oct 30 (PTI): The Jammu and Kashmir BJP on Friday raised concerns over the functioning of Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited and Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited, and demanded immediate relief for electricity consumers facing inflated bills, defective smart meters and excessive power cuts.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, former MLC and party spokesperson Girdhari Lal Raina alleged deficiencies in transparency, regional equity and consumer services on the part of the two power distribution corporations.

“We are raising serious concerns over the functioning of JPDCL and KPDCL. There are deficiencies in transparency, regional equity, consumer services and grievance redressal. We demand immediate relief for consumers facing inflated bills, defective smart meters and excessive power cuts,” Raina told reporters.

He demanded separate performance assessments and reporting of JPDCL and KPDCL, pointing out that despite their unbundling from the Power Development Department (PDD) in October 2019, their performance was often presented through combined figures, allegedly concealing regional deficiencies.

Citing reported figures, he said the JPDCL recorded aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses of 27.45 per cent in 2024-25 against 33.54 per cent in KPDCL, with losses touching 46 per cent in certain KPDCL feeder areas compared to around 20 per cent in some JPDCL areas.

He said the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) had also called for detailed circle-wise and subdivision-wise reporting of AT&C losses.

“Consumers in Jammu should not be made to pay for systemic failures,” Raina said, questioning the practice of linking power curtailment schedules to feeder-level losses.

He alleged that such a mechanism penalised honest, regular bill-paying consumers for electricity theft, revenue leakage and distribution inefficiencies.

Raina also expressed concern over defective, damaged and non-communicating smart meters, saying delayed replacement of such meters was adding to consumer hardships.

He demanded an authoritative assessment of defective meters, their time-bound replacement and accountability of the agencies responsible for their installation and maintenance.

He said inaccurate meter readings and transmission failures often resulted in estimated or average billing and unexpectedly high electricity bills.

Consumers, he demanded, should be provided transparent billing calculations and prompt correction of disputed bills.

BJP spokesperson Abhijeet Jasrotia criticised Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over what he termed the government’s inconsistent position on smart metering.

Referring to the Centre sanctioning Rs 5,641.91 crore under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) for smart prepaid meters and infrastructure upgrades, he questioned the progress made by the National Conference government in implementing the scheme.

The scheme aims to bring AT&C losses down to 12-15 per cent and eliminate the gap between the average cost of supply and the average realisable revenue, he said.

Jasrotia demanded corporation-wise details of expenditure, implementation and measurable outcomes under the scheme.

The BJP put forward a five-point charter of demands, including separate JPDCL and KPDCL performance data with circle-wise and subdivision-wise AT&C losses; transparent audits of power procurement, allocation, billing, revenue realisation and curtailment; time-bound replacement of defective smart meters; correction of inaccurate bills; and a review of loss-linked power cuts to protect the honest consumers.

It also demanded time-bound grievance redressal mechanisms with clearly defined accountability.

The BJP asserted that electricity was an essential public service and not a privilege, adding that consumers who pay their bills regularly should not suffer because of administrative failures, faulty meters and inefficiencies in power distribution. PTI AB ARI

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)