Kerala - Kochi   

Call for even sharing of power shortage

KOCHI: The Kerala HT and EHT Industrial Electricity Consumers’ Association and the Standing Council of Trade Unions, an umbrella organisation representing the interests of industrial workers affiliated to political parties across the ideological spectrum, will press for sharing the burden of power shortage evenly among all classes of power users in the State at a hearing convened by the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.

A spokesman for the Kerala HT and EHT Industrial Electricity Consumers’ Association reiterated the association stand that the government should give due consideration to the health of industrial units. Association representatives will attend a meeting convened by the regulatory board to hear stakeholders’ opinions on the Kerala State Electricity Board’s desire to extend power cut to other sectors too.

The standing council’s view is that preference should be given to the interests of industrial units. A spokesman alleged that the government was worried about the survival of the KSEB while not paying much attention to the survival of industrial units.

Several industrial establishments faced more than 40 per cent production loss following the imposition of 25 per cent power cut by the Kerala State Electricity Board over the last two months. For many industrial units, the power cut translates into more serious trouble than the numbers show. Industry sources here pointed to the precarious situation into which the public sector Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) plunged when the power drawing restrictions virtually turned out to be about 45 per cent. The anomaly was, however, corrected on a plea from the FACT management.

A private sector company which runs 30 furnaces a month has been forced to cut the numbers down to 17 as yet another private sector production unit is experiencing more than 40 per cent cutback in production.

Meanwhile, the industrial electricity consumers have challenged the imposition of 50 paisa surcharge a unit for the month of August in addition to the cost of Rs.11.16 approved by the regulatory commission.

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