Representatives of various chambers of commerce and industry have decried what they say are unscheduled power cuts that have crippled the production schedule of many units.
Talking to The Hindu , the representatives said the present situation would push the State backward that was progressing on all fronts. Instead of resorting to power cuts, the State government should think of filling the gap by purchasing power from other states. Giving more and more free power would add to the power shortage.
Describing the present situation as depressing, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Tamil Nadu Council Chairman, N.K. Ranganath urged the government officials to build additional capacity right now keeping the future, say about 20 years' demand in mind.
“We have to do something drastically in the short run. Shutting down the plants/units or laying people off is not the solution. We have to increase the production capacity to offset the losses. Why can't we look at conventional energy? We have strived hard to achieve the premier position and this should not be lost,” he said.
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry —Tamil Nadu State Council (FICCI-TNSC) chairman, M. Rafeeque Ahmed said that the power cut had its impact across all the sectors.
Small manufacturers were the worst hit by unscheduled power cuts.
“What we request the authorities is to have scheduled power cuts, so that we can streamline our schedule. We can't ask the workers to sit idle for hours together or ask them to come back after four hours. Some of them have gone in for captive generation, but it does not help all,” he said.
Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry official said the peak hour restriction not only seriously affected continuous process industries such as foundries, but also automobile sector across the country resulting in the state's industries becoming non-competitive due to their inability to meet the increased demand.
In the districts, apart from a cut during peak hour, there was load shedding for an additional hour making things worse. The exemption notification with regard to payment of electricity tax on own consumption by high tension consumers should be issued well in advance.
TNEB should be more transparent in the management of electricity in times of scarcity. The whole system of billing and levy of penalty need to be re-visited, the MCCI official said.
A Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association representative called for dividing the State into seven zones for effective power management and distribution purposes. “We have to follow this system for the next four weeks, as we expect the wind mills to start generating power from month end,” he said.
