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Power shortage has endangered and made survival of industries tough in Karnataka.
The statement made by Karnataka Energy Minister DK Shivakumar in the State Assembly that the government could not provide 24/7 power because of a daily shortage of 1,000 MW has come as a rude shock to industries.
Deficient rains The State generates about 6,000 MW power from hydel sources. Because of deficient monsoon rains, there is a shortage of 2,000 MW this season. The shortage has aggravated and the deficit is around 20–22 per cent.
Industries fear that power cuts and irregular power supply will have adverse impact on them.
“At present, the industrial activity is in slowdown phase. At this juncture power cut will bring in additional burden in terms of diesel gen-sets with huge initial investment and very high per unit cost,” said S Sampathraman, president Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI).
“A 100 kw gen-set costs ₹6.5 lakh, including installation. The cost will be in the order of ₹16-17 per unit. This will have huge impact on input costs for industries,” he added.
Threat to SSIs Explaining the consequences of deteriorating power supply on the SSI sector, Chidananda M Rajamane, president Kassia, said, “This is going to put a question mark over the survival of the eight lakh micro, small scale and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the State, 40 per cent of which are based in Bangalore, and who will have to bear the major brunt of the power shortage.”
He further said SSI may have to take drastic measures “it is going to be devastating. The SSIs will see a dip in production which might lead to layoffs, shut-downs, and lockouts. This will have a disastrous effect on the workers already reeling under price rise and high inflation.”
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