Union Power Minister urges water cess waiver in J&K

Union Minister of Power and Housing & Urban Affairs, Shri Manohar Lal, reviewed the power and urban development sector in Jammu & Kashmir during his visit to Srinagar. He urged the Union Territory (UT) to consider waiving the water cess on hydro projects to lower electricity costs for consumers.

The Union Minister inaugurated several transmission infrastructure upgrades, including:

1. 132/33 kV Grid Station, Awantipora – Capacity increased from 145 MVA to 175 MVA
   
   
2. Grid Station, Wanpoh – 20 MVA transformer replaced with 50 MVA unit, boundary wall constructed
   
   
3. Grid Substation, Amargarh – Capacity enhanced from 135 MVA to 195 MVA
   
   
4. Grid Substation, Magam – Capacity increased from 100 MVA to 130 MVA
   
   
5. Kulgam Grid Station – Replacement of 50 MVA transformer bank with 80 MVA/100 MVA, with associated system upgrades
   
   

The Union Minister directed that all government establishments and colonies be fully equipped with prepaid smart meters by August 2025. He suggested extending smart metering to commercial and industrial consumers, and, based on the results, rolling it out to other user categories.

He highlighted J&K’s significant hydro power potential and called for better coordination with the Central Government to train local workers for hydro projects. He also asked the UT to address bottlenecks in NHPC’s ongoing projects to avoid delays.