The 20 per cent power cut imposed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) on small scale industries and commercial complexes (low-tension consumers) came to an end on Tuesday. As wind energy production in Tamil Nadu has increased by around 1,500Mw, the state government has decided to withdraw the restriction, according to TNEB.
Meanwhile number of power theft cases rose by 18 per cent in the state to 4,425 cases in 2008-09 as compared to 3,746 cases in 2007-08.
The board also decided to reduce restriction on the high-tension industries and commercial complexes to 30 per cent from the current 40 per cent.
It may be recalled in November 2008 the Board had imposed 40 per cent power cut on high-tension (HT) consumers and 20 per cent power cut on low-tension (LT) industries, apart from peak-hour restrictions.
Responding to the board's decision, C K Ranganathan, chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Tamil Nadu State Council, said that zero power cut for LT consumers would help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) regain momentum, resulting in increased productivity and employment generation.
After meeting the state Electricity Minister, Arcot N Veerasamy, Ranganathan said that the state government was confident of lifting the remaining power cut on HT consumers in the days to come.
According various industry representatives, production has come down by 30 per cent down and traditional industries like textile, leather and salt, among others, are the worst hit. The state's losses on account of power shortages are estimated at Rs 4,000 crore.
Till recently, the TNEB was purchasing 800mw to 1,000mw daily, besides 30 MW to 300 MW on an hourly basis. Now, it buys 500 MW, of which 250 MW is from the open market, according to reports.
According to TNEB's statistics, current demand for power across the state is 9,500-9,700mw, while the generation is around 7,500mw, excluding generation from wind, shortage is around 2,000mw.
The state has an installed capacity of little over 3,900mw of wind energy.
Tamil Nadu has 19.6 million consumers, of which 6,812 are HT service, 471,040 industrial services, 2,374,525 commercial, 1,851,358 agricultural services and 13,207,989 domestic services.
