MUZAFFARABAD, Nov 16: The AJK government is spending Rs209 million this year to provide electricity to around 17,000 new consumers, minister for electricity Sardar Mir Akbar Khan said here on Friday.
Responding to reporters’ questions in the Azad Kashmir Radio Muzaffarabad’s Roobroo programme, he said several grid stations would be built to improve power supply.
The minister said that the non-establishment of grid stations was the main cause of line losses and that the AJK electricity department had managed to bring down line losses from 45 to 39 per cent.
He said that 69 per cent of the AJK’s total population was benefiting from electricity as 1,553 out of the 1,665 revenue villages had been electrified.
About the hydel power, he said the government was trying to tap the abundant water resources in Azad Kashmir, as the identified hydel power generation potential of the liberated territory was around 5,000 megawatt.
The minister said that the private sector was likely to start work on projects such as the 132MW Rajdhani project, 69MW New Bang project, 43MW Jagran Phase II and 3.750MW Bitar Nullah project.
He felt that if hydel power generation projects were not constructed, the AJK might have to spend Rs7 billion on power purchase (from Wapda) in future.
Replying to a question, he admitted that Wapda was demanding Rs1,700 million as arrears from the AJK electricity department, and said that the demand was unjustified.
“According to our record, we have made an excess payment of Rs177 million to Wapda up to September 2001,” he said.
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