Over 25,000 MSMEs shut shutters seeking peak hour charges rollback

COIMBATORE: More than 25,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) units downed shutters in Coimbatore on Friday demanding withdrawal of peak hour charges for the units.

The protest resulted in a production loss of Rs 50 crore per day for the industrial sector in the district. “Similar peak hour charges were introduced for big firms when there was acute shortage of power in Tamil Nadu. But now the state has become power surplus and it is unnecessary to levy such high charges on MSMEs, which function mostly on rented premises,” said J James, one of the co-ordinators for Federation of Coimbatore Industrial Associations.

Members of more than 20 MSMEs associations took part in the one-day protest fast at Tatabad area. They claimed that MSME units were already operating at a loss and peak hour’s charges would completely force everyone out of business.

In the old tariff, the fixed charges for MSME units was Rs 35 a month/KW. However, in the revised tariff, the fixed charge for upto 50 KW is Rs 75 per KW per month and above 51 KW to 112 KW is Rs 150/KW/month.

James also claimed that peak hour charges for consumption from 6 am to 10 am and 6 pm to 10 pm have been collected without fixing separate meters. The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) has been calculating peak hour charges out of the total electricity consumed and levies 15 per cent extra charges.

Though the state government announced additional subsidies to reduce peak hour charges from 25 per cent to 15 per cent, the MSMEs were demanding for a complete rollback.