With an additional one mmscmd of RLNG being made available to the state, the one-day power holiday to the small industries will be lifted from Monday onwards.
While this comes as some respite for the small scale industries that have been gasping in the absence of adequate power, the sector is demanding the entire power cuts to be lifted.
“With this arrangement, the power cuts to the small industries will come down from 30 per cent to 15 per cent immediately. However, medium and large industries will continue to have 40 per cent cuts,” APTransco CMD Ajay Jain said.
The orders for 2.5 mmscmd (Million Metric Standard Cubic Meter per Day) of RLNG to be made available to the state were issued earlier this month but the agreement for supply of gas was finally signed betw-een GAIL and RIL on Saturday, after a number of delays.
With this month-long arrangement, the power woes faced by the small scale industries will come under control to some extent.
The power requirement of the small industries across the state has been estimated by the four discoms to be around 250 MW. The one mmscmd RLNG will produce around 240 to 250 MW of power, just sufficient for meeting the demand of the small industries.
Incidentally, the small industry is on the verge of complete collapse, have been agitating over the month. Industry representatives were assured by industries minister J. Geetha Reddy that a solution to the problem would be worked out.
The small industries, along with the entire industrial sector, is currently facing three-day power cuts per week, which has turned the sector an unattractive proposition now.