Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district is set to become a major power hub in north India, as it will generate nearly 6,000 MW of power after the completion of the ongoing power projects, an official spokesman said. The surplus power from Kishtwar will not only be utilised for other parts of the union territory, but will also be sold to other States, he said.
He said 1,000 MW Pakal Dul Project, 624 MW Kiru Project, 540 MW Kwar Project and 930 MW Kirthai Project are all located in close vicinity of each other, along with 850 MW Ratle Project which has been revived as a joint venture between the Centre and the union territory.
Pakal Dul HE Project (1,000MW) is under active construction after river diversion was carried out. The project will generate 3,230 MWs annually and expected to be completed by July 2025, the spokesman said.
He said Kiru HE Project (624 MW) is also under construction. The river diversion was carried out recently and after completion it will generate 2,272 MWs annually. The project is expected to be completed by July 2025.
The work on Kwar Hydro Electric Project (540MW) started in 2022 and the project will generate 1,975 million units (MU) of power annually and scheduled completion is in November 2026, the spokesman said.
Similarly, Ratle HE Project (850 MW) is under construction and work started by awarding EPC Contract in January 2022. The scheduled date of commissioning of the project is 10th Feb 2026 and once commissioned, the project will generate 3,136 MUs annually. Kirthai-II HE Project (930 MW) is under investigation and will generate 3,329.52MUs annually, he added.
With the commissioning of all these projects, the power requirement of Jammu and Kashmir will be met and will help in achieving the goal of zero carbon emission.
The Rattle and Kwar (540MW) hydroelectric projects are to be constructed on Chenab river in Kishtwar at a cost of around ₹5,300 crore and ₹4,500 crore respectively.
Jammu and Kashmir administration has initiated various reforms to overhaul the power sector in the UT. The government is working on a mission mode for developing new power infrastructure and improving the existing one to meet the power demands of the people, the spokesman said.
“Unprecedented milestones have been achieved to ensure last mile connectivity and 100% saturation of Central Sector Scheme of Universal Household Electrification. More than 6,500 new distribution transformers have been installed and reliability of power distribution has been ensured in both rural and urban areas,” he said.
Transmission and distribution capacity has been increased. More power has been supplied even during peak days. Important power projects which were hanging in balance for decades are now being executed. In the next three years, J&K is set to generate the capacity equivalent to what was achieved in 70 years, he added.
