Srinagar, Feb 4 (IANS): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Monday said he had decided to ban use of incandescent bulbs in government and public buildings in the state to cut down on power bills.

The chief minister, who also holds the power portfolio in the state, posted on his Twitter site: "Am going to move a proposal in the cabinet to ban the use of incandescent bulbs in govt & public buildings. Can't sustain power losses."

The incandescent bulbs are likely to be replaced by compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs, which consume less power.

The state spends around Rs.4,000 crore annually on its electric power import bill for use by its consumers but low recoveries have led to mounting losses.

"The total recovery by way of electric tariff does not exceed Rs.1,500 crore anually," said an engineer of the department here.

The power tariff in the state is the lowest in the country after Sikkim, while the transmission and distribution losses (T&D) losses are around 65 percent.

The Omar Abdullah-led Jammu and Kashmir government has been focusing on setting up new micro and macro electric power generating units in the state, which include the Chenab Valley Power Development Corporation on Chenab river from which 10,000 mega watt (MW) of power could be generated.