The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : TNEB not to go ahead with power holidays

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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

TNEB not to go ahead with power holidays

T. Ramakrishnan

Power cut scheme to continue till the Board formulates its position on the issue

CII State Council chairman meets Electricity Minister
“Power holiday, along with peak hour restrictions, will affect industry”

CHENNAI: The authorities have decided not to go ahead with the proposal of two-day holidays, and the scheme of power cut for industry will continue.

This follows strong objections to the proposal raised by different sections of industry, especially the high-tension (HT) segment. On Tuesday, CII State Council chairman Manikam Ramaswami wrote to Electricity Minister Arcot N. Veeraswami, suggesting that the State government reduce the quantum of power cut for high-tension industrial units and follow the system of power holidays for low-tension units.

On Wednesday morning, Mr. Ramaswami met Mr.Veeraswami. Later he told The Hindu that he was hopeful that the Minister would take steps to reduce the quantum of power cut.

A delegation of representatives of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) met Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) Chairman C.P. Singh and discussed the matter with him.

Mr. Singh also spoke to K. Selvaraju, secretary-general of the Southern India Mills’ Association, according to a senior official.

Since November 1, the scheme of 40 per cent power cut on base demand and energy for high-tension industrial establishments and commercial complexes and 20 per cent cut on base energy for the LT current transformer (LTCT) industrial and commercial connections is in force.

Several industry associations across the State are of the view that the two-day holiday system, along with the peak hour restrictions, will adversely affect the units. Furthermore, the industrial units apprehend unscheduled interruptions.

The TNEB official said the Board required time to study different proposals that had emanated from the discussions with the representatives of industry. Until it formulated its position, the present arrangement would continue.

The system of two-day holidays will hit operations of continuous process industrial units. Moreover, many units, keeping the power cut scheme in mind, have tied up with private power producers to meet a portion of their requirements.

Their plans will go awry, if the new holiday system is implemented. Besides, in the recent weeks, the units switched over to the two-shift system from the three-shift system. So, they will find it difficult to mobilise manpower again at a short notice.

Under the present arrangement, the maximum demand charges have been reduced proportionately for the HT units.

When the power cut scheme is lifted, the charges will be restored. This will have an impact on the industry. In the estimation of the Board, this would have meant an additional flow of Rs.120 crore-Rs.140 crore a month to its kitty, the Board official explained.

Remove peak hour restrictions

In a statement, M. Balasubramanian, president of the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, appealed to the government to remove the peak hour restrictions.

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