Overloading by consumers burning transformers, causing power cuts: CM

Aatif Qayoom
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13 Dec 2025

Srinagar, Dec 13: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said unscheduled power cuts and long shutdowns are mainly caused by overloading of the electricity system due to incorrect load declarations by consumers. Speaking to the media in Gulmarg, he said maintenance work cannot always be planned in advance because many failures happen suddenly. “You cannot do maintenance for December in September. Sometimes maintenance is not scheduled. It happens because of overloading of the system,” he said. Explaining the problem, Omar Abdullah gave a simple example to highlight the gap between declared and actual electricity use. He said when people sign an agreement, they often show a very small load, such as four bulbs at home. After the agreement, they install heavy appliances like multiple heaters. “When we make an agreement, we show four bulbs at home. And after making an agreement, we install ten heaters at home. Your system will burn,” he said. He stressed that this mismatch puts extreme pressure on transformers and the overall grid. The Chief Minister urged consumers to be honest about their power needs. He said that correct information allows the power department to plan infrastructure properly. “You tell your load honestly. You will tell the load, and I will install a transformer accordingly. Then that transformer will not burn,” he said. Omar also clarified that overload problems are not occurring where meters are installed correctly, and agreements reflect real usage. “This system failure is mostly happening where we make an agreement, and we do not show it correctly in the agreement,” he added. The CM also spoke about prolonged shutdowns that last seven to eight hours in some areas. He said there are two main reasons. One is regular load shedding, which he described as unavoidable. He said the government is unable to supply electricity equal to demand because it does not recover enough revenue for the power supplied. “We are not able to supply as much electricity as people need because we do not get the revenue for the electricity that we supply. We run at a loss,” he said. The second reason is repair work after failures. He said that when a transformer burns due to overload, it cannot be fixed quickly. “If the transformer burns, it does not repair in an hour,” the Chief Minister said, calling for responsible power use to reduce outages.