Industrialists accuse discom of harassment

Erratic power supply has resulted in closure of many factories, they say. The factory managements had to close their units as the erratic power supply took a toll on the production, even as labour cost, electricity bills, surcharges and fines remained higher.

Expressing concern over the erratic power supply that has resulted in closure of industries and loss of livelihoods for many, industrialists in the district have accused the Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (SPDCL) of harassing the managements and the sector by and large.

Speaking to The Hindu , the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Anantapur district chapter, P.G.D.P. Seshanjaneyulu said that more than 30 per cent of the granite and slab polishing industries in and around Tadipatri had been closed down in the last two years owing to irregular and low quality power supply.

The factory managements had to close their units as the erratic power supply took a toll on the production, even as labour cost, electricity bills, surcharges and fines remained higher.

“Almost all industries are either suffering from production loss or high input costs as they ensure continuous power supply by using generators. If the increased cost is transferred to consumers, we lose out on competition. If not, we have to sustain on meagre or no margins,” said Mr. Seshanjaneyulu.

Not only manufacturing units were complaining against the SPDCL, but also the power industry itself, he said and cited the example of Sree Rayalaseema Green Energy Limited (SRGEL), a bio-mass power plant at Gooty. “We have been fined over Rs. 4.3 crore by the APCPDCL (now SPDCL) for producing additional 0.7 mega watt of power from non-conventional sources,” said SRGELCEO K.V. Teja.

“As our sponge iron and bio-mass power plants are adjacent to each other, we capitalised on harnessing heat energy from flue gases by installing a waste heat recovery system and connecting the steam generated thereby to the steam bus of the bio-mass plant boiler to generate power from a single boiler,” Mr Teja explained, adding that the process had been recognised as a non-conventional energy source by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Counter-version

The SPDCL authorities, however, maintained that usage of the same boiler for producing additional power from a source which had not been defined by them as a non-conventional source of energy should attract fines and scrapping of incentives .

The power utility has reportedly stopped wheeling of power from the plant effectively, putting the jobs of around 500 people at risk, besides the 200 farmers from whom the plant sources its bio-mass.