Power demand in J&K witnessing steady rise: Centre

In 2026, J&K recorded electricity requirement of 14,874 MU, of which 14,862 MU was supplied, over 5.76 lakh smart meters installed in J&K

New Delhi: Over 5.76 lakh smart meters have been installed across Jammu and Kashmir under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) till January 2026, the Government of India informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday.In a written reply to an unstarred question (No. 1143) raised by Ashish Dubey, the Union Ministry of Power, according to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that smart metering works have been sanctioned for 14.97 lakh connections in J&K, including consumer meters, distribution transformer meters and feeder meters.

The ministry said that prepaid smart metering has helped improve billing and collection efficiency, reduce losses and strengthen the financial health of power distribution utilities. Owing to reforms including smart metering, Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses have declined at the national level from 21.91 per cent in FY2021 to 15.04 per cent in FY2025.

The Ministry further said that consumer awareness programmes, including pamphlet distribution, public outreach campaigns and local-language audio announcements, are being conducted to familiarise consumers with smart prepaid meters and real-time electricity consumption tracking.Electricity demand in Jammu and Kashmir has seen a steady rise over the past three years, while power supply has largely remained in sync with demand, the Government of India informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

In a written reply to an unstarred question (No. 1119), the Union Power Ministry, according to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that J&K’s electricity requirement stood at 19,639 million units (MU) in 2022–23, of which 19,322 MU was supplied.In 2023–24, the requirement increased to 20,040 MU, with 19,763 MU supplied. During 2024–25, the demand further rose to 20,374 MU, while supply remained close at 20,283 MU.For the current financial year 2025–26 (up to December 2025), J&K recorded an electricity requirement of 14,874 MU, against which 14,862 MU was supplied, indicating a marginal gap.The Ministry said that minor gaps between demand and supply are generally due to transmission and distribution constraints and have not impacted economic or industrial growth in the Union Territory.