The industry in the state has come out strongly against the restrictions on consumption of power and penalties for violation of these restrictions.
The Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) last week directed industries to utilise only 60 per cent of the contracted demand during the off-peak hours and further restricted the utilisation of power by them to 30 per cent and below during the peak hours.
These new orders will be in force till March next year keeping in view the severe supply-demand gap in the state, according to the commission. While demanding the lifting of these restrictions, the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Industries (Fapi) also alleged the power regulator had been issuing unilateral orders without conducting public hearings.
“The Industrial sector will collapse with the latest restrictions and the industry wants the regulator to restore the previous 3-day power holiday in week,” BV Rama Rao, president of Fapi said.
An industrial unit violating these restrictions would have to pay a penalty of up to 3 times of the normal tariff towards power consumption over and above the permitted limits.
“The licensees projected that there would be high quantum of energy deficit to the extent of 21 million units(mu) to 79 mu during the period between September, 2012 and March, 2013 and further stated that the Discoms have no other option but to impose restriction on usage of power,” APERC said in its orders.
Industries in the state have been experiencing power cuts of various severity since 2010. The sharp dip in natural gas supply to power projects and restricted hydro power generation due to lower inflows in major reservoirs have added to the power supply problem. At the same time, the demand for power has gone up 10 per cent over last year, according to power utilities.
The Opposition parties raised their protest against the ‘government's failure’ on the power front in the state legislative Assembly on the first day.
