The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : CII, SIMA oppose proposal

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Tuesday, Dec 30, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

CII, SIMA oppose proposal

Special Correspondent

“Industry will have to pay more for the same quantum of power it is getting”
“Exempt low-tension connections from peak-hour restrictions”

CHENNAI/COIMBATORE: The government’s proposal to lift power cut for industry and go in for a regional system of holidays has evoked mixed response.

While the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has taken exception to the Electricity Minister’s announcement, the Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association (TANSTIA) has welcomed it.

Manikam Ramaswami, chairman, CII-Tamil Nadu, said industry would have to pay higher charges for the same quantum of power it was getting now. If implemented, the move would derail the plans of companies that had tied up with private power producers through open access. When the government was willing to provide different sections with more and more freebies, why it was not ready to spend some money on tapping power from diesel-run plants and absorbing a portion of the cost of power generation, as suggested by industry, he asked.

Welcoming the proposal, TANSTIA president D. Gandhikumar, in a statement, appealed to the Minister to consider exempting low-tension and low-tension current transformer service connections from the peak hour restrictions.

However, the Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) has said it will prefer a 30-per cent power cut and not two power holidays a week, since the textile sector is a continuous process industry.

Association chairman K.V. Srinivasan said the textile industry would prefer the 30-per cent power cut, since this would mean fewer hours of production lost.

He thanked the Minister for considering the industry’s plea for uninterrupted power supply during the night hours (10 p.m. to 6 a.m.). Besides the peak-hour shutdown from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. every day, the industry faced disruption for two hours in the morning. This should be stopped, he said.

He urged the government to implement the recommendation of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission on the use of banked wind energy by the wind turbine operators in four equal instalments from January to April.

The textile sector had invested heavily in wind mills. The government should consider the diesel oil captive generation model, as suggested by the industry.

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