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In view of the severe power crisis gripping the State and the consequent crippling impact on industrial units, a proposal has been floated by the Andhra Pradesh Government that power should be purchased from independent power producers at a higher cost and supplied to units if they are willing to bear the extra financial burden.
Accordingly, the discoms (the distribution companies) have put up a proposal to the AP Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) to enable them to buy power and sell it at cost to industries to meet the shortfall.
There are at present peak hour load restrictions (from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.) on the units and they are facing a huge problem in organising their production schedules and in coping with the power deficit. The Government’s move is intended to supply to the units the power they require during peak hours. The units would be supplied power to the extent of restricted load at cost. Therefore, during the peak hours, the units which had been directed to utilise only 40 per cent of their contracted load can now get full supply and pay a higher price for the 60 per cent, according to H.Y. Dora, Director (Operations), AP Eastern Power Distribution Company Ltd (EPDCL).
It is proposed to charge between Rs 9.40 and Rs 13.50 per unit for the power shortfall, according to V.R Vijayaraghava Naik, General Manager of the District Industries Centre, Visakhapatnam. "There are not many takers for the proposal. Only 13 of the 200-odd units I have interacted with have evinced interest in paying the higher cost for power," he said.
According to Ramakrishna Narappareddy, President of Visakha Autonagar Small-scale Industrialists' Association, the tariff is too high for the small and medium units.
"We are now being supplied power at Rs 5 a unit. In response to the proposal of the Government, we have agreed to go up to Rs 8 or so per unit, even though it is a burden. Beyond that, there will not be many units which can buy power," he explained.
He said the Government should lift peak hour load restrictions and waive the hefty penalties imposed on them for excess use of power during the peak hours. Otherwise, the MSMEs would have no other option but to stop production, he added. Already, many of them had laid off workers and drastically cut production.
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