Industries on generators, operate at Rs 17 per unit

Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 13

Reeling under unscheduled power cuts, most industrial units are running on generators, which is costing them Rs 17 or even more per unit.

Hand Tool Association president SC Ralhan said the unscheduled power cuts had hampered their operations. “If the authorities provide us the schedule, the industry can plan productions accordingly. Unscheduled power cuts of two to three hours disturb the entire planning of the day. The production is badly hit due to the erratic supply”, he rued.

Federation of Punjab Small Industries Associations (FOPSIA) president Badish Jindal said the continuous process industries were facing huge losses under the current circumstances.

He said: “The industry is reeling under unscheduled power cuts of 3-5 hours daily. The cuts are causing huge production losses. The continuous process industries such as steel or plastic are unable to run because of the outages. This is increasing the cost of production and there is unrest among the workers as they are forced to sit idle for long hours.

Already hit by Covid and farm protests, the power cuts may prove as final nail in the coffin of Punjab industries.”