More power for small industries

More than 2 lakh small and medium industries in the state will have shorter power cuts from Monday. The four hour cut between 6 pm and 10 pm has been withdrawn with immediate affect.

Acting on a report carried by this newspaper, the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, asked energy officials to see that distress of these industrial units is reduced to some extent. He asked the small scale industries minister, Ms D.K. Aruna, meet with industry officials over the matter.

At a meeting attended by representatives of industry, and the energy department and APTransco, majority of industries demanded that the government review its 3-day power holiday. The government agreed to review it but wanted time.

“We have to see whether we can manage or not. To remove the power holiday for one day, we need to buy more power,” said Mr M.T. Krishna Babu, chairman and MD of Central Power Distribution Company (CPDC). Evening cuts will be relaxed to help small and medium units, he said.