Affordable electricity
Jammu and Kashmir is trying very hard for electricity sector reforms. Many milestones have been achieved for this modernization initiative.
Efforts to ensure affordable electricity tariffs for consumers have been equally prioritized, with substantial subsidies being provided by the government on the full cost tariff evaluated based on the current price of power procurement and other actual discom expenses approved by the JERC. Notably, J&K refrained from increasing electricity tariffs during the current financial year (2024-25). In the previous year (2023-24), while metered consumers faced a 15% tariff hike, the government offset this increase by withdrawing the 15% Electricity Duty on energy charges, resulting in no net rise in consumer bills.
However, with these initiatives government bears a huge burden in maintaining the financial stability of the sector, which is crucial for securing grants from the central government to upgrade power infrastructure. In monetary terms, it is estimated that for every unit sold to metered residential consumers, the government bears a loss of approximately Rs. 3.75, by providing subsidy.
At the same time, there is grave concern over the high number of unmetered areas still prevalent in Kashmir. These areas contribute to substantial energy losses, exacerbated by the fact that only 32% (318605 no.) of residential consumers are metered and are being billed as per actual metered consumption against the total residential consumer base of 982125.The remaining 68% of residential consumers (663520 no.) are charged on a flat-rate (fixed charges) basis.