The year gone by - 2012 - was quite a dismal one for the industry in Visakhapatnam, as indeed for the rest of Andhra Pradesh, as units – big and small – were forced to operate at roughly half their capacity due severe power problems.
B.V. Rama Rao, the president of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Industries (FAPI), said that never had the industry in the State faced such a critical situation and the industrialists were not able to pay salaries to the workers or to pay back bank term loans and interest, as they could not operate the units at full capacity.
‘Industry crippled’
“Peak hour load restrictions and the unreasonable stipulations imposed by the AP Electricity Regulatory Commission crippled the industry. The fixation of tariff by the APERC was also unilateral and the industry was not consulted,” he alleged.
The Chief Minister promised on August 21 in Hyderabad that no VAT would be levied on diesel used for captive power generation, but till date no GO had been issued, in spite of repeated pleas by the industry. It was indicative of the indifferent attitude of the State Government.
“At this rate the units will have to down shutters and no new units will be set up in the State. We hope at least now remedial measures will be taken in the new year,” he pleaded.
Penalty on units
O. Naresh Kumar, the Chairman of Symbiosys, an IT company, said industrialists were being penalised for no fault of theirs.
The AP Eastern Power Distribution Company Ltd (APEPDCL) had imposed heavy penalties on units for drawing excess power during peak hours (6 p.m to 10 p.m) and, even though the transmission and distribution losses were the lowest in the region, no incentive was being offered to the units and instead they were being punished.
“It is highly irrational to say the least. In the circumstances, one wonders how the State Government will be able to provide power to the new units or how it can invite entrepreneurs to set up new units. In fact, no new units can be thought of in such a situation without captive power generation,” he said.
He also accused the State Government of not keeping its promise of uninterrupted 24-hour power supply to IT units.
Clarification
Ahmad Nadeem, the Chairman and Managing Director of the APEPDCL, however, clarified that the purpose of imposing penalties was not to punish the industry or to generate more revenue for the distribution company, but to inculcate some discipline in using power in a critical situation.
“The industry has to understand that it is an emergency and certain restrictions become inevitable in such situations. Otherwise, there will be unscheduled power-cuts and that is worse. The available power has be rationally allocated to different sectors. For want of enough gas, the power stations in the State are unable to generate enough power, though there is capacity and that has led to the situation,” he explained.
The industry is hoping for a better situation in 2013.