The Tiruchi District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association (TIDITSSIA) has cautioned that the "steep rise" in power tariff will affect the MSME sector drastically and cripple production.
The rise, effected despite the opposition to the tariff structure registered during the public hearings, had come in as a huge shock to tiny and small industries and the general public, P. Rajappa, TIDITSSIA president, said in a press release.
Making industries and power consumers to bear the losses of Tangedco was unjustified. Though the Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association and its several affiliate organisations demanded rollback of the tariff hike, the implementation of the revised structure with effect from September 10 reeked of unilateralism in decision-making.
“The decision to go ahead with the revised power tariff is a huge let-down for MSME sector against the backdrop of the assurance given by the Electricity Minister Senthil Balaji that the predicament of the small industries will be considered,” Mr. Rajappa lamented.
In particular, tiny and small industries would be crippled by the categorisation of 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. as peak hours. It would mean that the production could be carried out only for eight hours in daytime. Since most of the tiny and small industries were functioning out of residential areas, production activities could not be carried out during the timings categorised as 'peak hours', as it would cause public disturbance, Mr. Rajappa explained.
The financial condition of small industries that were entirely dependent on job orders had already been weakened by the lockdown imposed during the pandemic. The implementation of the new power tariff had taken effect at a time when industries were already grappling with the losses. The revised tariff would hamper production activities and render several lakhs of workers jobless.
