Plea for workable power model

Tag : variable power supply

Coimbatore, July 27 The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) hasdemanded a workable model for captive power generation to save theindustry from closure.
The Association Chairman, Dr K.V. Srinivasan, welcomed the TNEBnotifications inviting tenders for procurement of short-term powerfrom captive power plants and co-generators within the State.
He said the new approach would help the electricity board bridgethe gap in supply, albeit to a marginal extent.
But this would not work in the textile industry since many of theunits did not have the facility to convert 440 Volts into 11 KV andexport to the grid.
“The board has to come out with a workable model in view ofthe need to sustain the survival of the industry and save job lossand revenue loss to the Government.
“The textile industry alone has over 1000 MW HSD oil gensetsand 150 MW furnace oil gensets. The captive power generationcapacity would be more than 3,500 MW. The State would be able tomanage the power shortage easily till 2011 if the Governmentevolves a workable model,” he reiterated.
The association has urged the Chief Minister, Dr M. Karunanidhi, tointervene immediately by initiating remedial measures to overcomethe ‘unforeseen’ power crisis.
SIMA members resolved the need for restricting power cut only forpower holiday of 24 hours in a week and not beyond, distribute thepower shortage uniformly throughout the State without anydiscrimination, restrict new connections leading to additionalload, ensure adequate supply of diesel to operate captive powerplants, reduce maximum demand charges and electricity deposit inproportion to electricity supplied, reimburse differential cost ofRs 8/unit for running captive power plants and supply SKO to theindustry at concessional rate.
The association has been insisting the Electricity Board toreimburse the additional variable cost of operating the captivepower plants for captive consumption. “If the loss innotional income by way of VAT and the technical and distributionloss are taken into account, the actual amount to be reimbursed bythe State Government might work out to Rs 500-700 cr. The TNEB ispaying Rs 7-15/unit of power purchased from independent powerplants under the MoU route. Why should the Government hesitate tomeet the variable cost incurred by the units for captiveconsumption?,” he asked, adding, “if a decision on thisissue is not taken immediately, the industry which is alreadyfacing production loss of up to 40 per cent, would reel under cashlosses leaving millions jobless.”