The Kanara Industries Association (KIA) has said that much is to be achieved by Mescom (Mangalore Electricity Supply Company) Ltd in ease of doing business.

In an interactive meeting with the Managing Director of Mescom, Prashanth Kumar Mishra, in Mangaluru, Isaac Vas, President of KIA, said that getting electricity is one of the 10 parameters that define the ‘ease of doing business’ in any country as per the index published by the World Bank.

“However, much is to be achieved by Mescom in this parameter. We believe the reform activities as directed by the government are not followed in letter and spirit. Prospective industrialists are made to run to various Mescom offices. Many industries have complained about the delay in getting power connections,” he said.

Power interruptions

On the power supply, he said the industrial units at Baikampady industrial area in Mangaluru see frequent power interruption due to poor quality of material used. This results in material loss or damage to equipment.

Urging the Mescom to install the latest equipment and implement latest technology, he said most transformers have been maintained very poorly and torn wires are pretty standard. These are leading to frequent breakdowns.

Vas said specific incidents have been observed where Mescom has issued demand notices in violation of rules after a gap of three years. The redressal cell of Mescom always protects its own staff and pushes cases upwards towards the Ombudsman. In the present competitive world, this leads to uncertainties for industry owners.

Also read: Industry bodies express concern over connectivity collapse between Mangaluru and Bengaluru

Vas requested to include representation from industry associations in the redressal cell with clear instructions not to be partisan in their orders.

In his reply, the Mescom MD assured KIA that Mescom will proactively work towards finding long-term solutions to all the issues and concerns raised by the association and directed his officials accordingly.

Terming commercial customers as the main source of revenue to the company, he directed his officials to be in regular touch with the industry consumers so that all the service-related issues are taken care of without any delay.