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Oct 16, 2008

TNEB Warns LT Consumers

The low tension (LT) current transformer consumers of Tamil Nadu, especially small industries, were nonplussed on Wednesday on receipt of a directive from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) prohibiting them from drawing power from its grid from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. hereafter. This came into effect from Wednesday (October 15) itself thus effectively putting them out of work for more than 10 hours a day.

To any one found flouting the directive, “your power supply will be disconnected for 48 hours without any intimation and it will be restored only after collecting necessary reconnection charges,” a communication from the TNEB to the LT consumers said. It also explained that the TNEB had been directed by the Government to restrict the supply of electricity in view of the prevailing power situtiation. Coimbatore district, being the hub of small and micro units, would be the major casualty.

The president of the Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industries Association, D. Gandhikumar, said that the small and tiny industries had already been grappling with several hours of power disruptions, both during the day and also the night. The current TNEB directive would reduce the time of operation of these units by almost 10 to 11 hours a day, he said. Power disruptions, apart from hurting the productivity of the worker, might also result in loss of orders to rivals who had captive power generation facility, he said. Above all, erratic power supply would result in poor quality of the products, especially in continuous process industries. Thus there could be greater rejections which would aggravate their loss, he said.

As an investment of Rs. 3 lakhs to Rs. 4 lakhs was needed for purchase of generator and accessorises for captive power generation, most of the small and tiny units would not be able to afford such a back-up. Also, the operational cost would shoot up if these units had to procure diesel paying Rs 50 a litre. “Even this supply is erratic,” he said. Such captive power generation cost worked out to Rs 12 to 16 per unit. “No tiny unit can afford such a huge cost, he said.

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