Srinagar – The Kashmir region is facing a critical shortage of power capacitors, hindering efforts by local power distribution companies (DISCOMs) to improve power quality, optimize system efficiency and maintain a healthy power factor across the grid.
According to official documents quoted by news agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the Ministry of Power (MoP), Government of India, has facilitated the provision of capacitors for industrial consumers to support reactive power compensation and ensure power factor correction. However, no such capacitor banks are presently available within the DISCOM infrastructure in the Kashmir Valley.
“In the meeting, it was informed from J&K side that presently no capacitors are available in Kashmir DISCOM, although capacitors have been provided by industrial consumers to maintain a healthy power factor,” the documents state.
The documents further note that the Technical Coordination Committee (TCC) and the Northern Regional Power Committee (NRPC) recently approved proposals for the installation of capacitor banks by Rajasthan and Uttarakhand DISCOMs. These proposals were submitted to the Power System Development Fund (PSDF), which has shown a positive stance towards financing such schemes.
“Although PSDF funds were frozen for some time, approvals are now being granted for select schemes, indicating a revival of support for grid-strengthening projects,” the records mention.
One of the key technical issues highlighted in the meeting was the acute shortage of reactive power compensation in the Kashmir Valley. At present, around 700–800 MVAr of reactive power is being drawn through 400/220kV interconnecting transformers (ICTs) at Amargarh, Wagoora, and New Wanpoh substations. While New Wanpoh SVC (Static VAR Compensator) is currently providing 300 MVAr support, there remains an estimated deficit of nearly 1000 MVAr in reactive power compensation—both at the transmission and distribution levels—for the next 1–2 years.
“If a proposal is prepared considering future demand growth, additional capacitor capacity should be planned accordingly,” the document recommends.
The lack of reactive power support has also had an impact on transfer capability limits within the region. The J&K State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC) continues to share Available Transfer Capability (ATC) and Total Transfer Capability (TTC) base cases regularly, as per Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) guidelines.
However, due to sustained low voltage conditions during daytime hours, ATC and TTC figures were recently revised downward. “In the Kashmir Valley, the ATC/TTC figures are currently 2700/2800 MW between 09:00–14:00 hours, and 3400/3500 MW for the rest of the day,” the document notes.
Power sector experts warn that without timely installation of capacitor banks and other reactive power management systems, grid reliability and voltage stability could be adversely affected, especially as load demand rises in coming years.
