Frequent power disruption in TN affects MSMEs

Chennai: With Tamil Nadu facing unprecedented power disruptions, primarily due to the shortage of coal and other distribution issues, the functioning of small and medium companies in the state has been affected.

The unit owners said that the regular disruptions in the past few days are a cause of worry as the use of generators to substitute the power disruption has turned into a costly affair, thanks to the high cost of diesel.

Industrial units in Chennai, Coimbatore, Salem, and Tiruchi are facing issues due to the frequent power failures that take place four to five times a day with 20 to 30 minutes duration.

A small industrial unit manufacturing company that is specialising in the production of brake liners, while speaking to IANS, said, "The industrial climate is going for a toss if the power disruptions continue. The Chief Minister has already communicated to the Prime Minister regarding the coal shortage in Tamil Nadu and hopes the issue is resolved. We are facing a 10 per cent shortage in our production per day and this will lead to losses for industry that is slowly coming up after two years of pandemic followed by economic woes."

Many of the small industrial units have said that they are not able to use generators as the cost of diesel has gone up and the costing has become more than 30 per cent than that was earlier.

An industrial unit at Coimbatore industrial park which specializes in tool-making is also facing the same issue. M. Karupuvelan, a trained machinist who has put a unit with the support from the Small Industrial Development Bank of India (SIDBI) told IANS, "Things were doing good until pandemic struck. After two years of closure and default on loans, we were slowly coming back on track and the continuous power disruptions are now taking their toll on our production. We are into precision engineering and once the power is gone, the flow is lost. Hence we have to start afresh creating major worries. I am not able to afford using a generator to substitute the power shortage as prices of diesel have skyrocketed."

Frequent power disruption has become a major cause of worry in Tamil Nadu. The government needs to take measures to rectify the situation and help the small and medium industries that employ a huge workforce will suffer, said unit holders.