The power tariff increase by Rs 1.50 per unit has come as a rude shock for the ailing textile industry, Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) said on Friday.
Reacting to the new power tariff announced by Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC), SIMA Chairman, S Dinakaran said the association was having a lot of faith on TNERC that it will follow some rationale in fixing the revised tariff.
Though Tamilnadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) had proposed hike of Re 1 per unit for the High Tension (ht) consumers, TNERC has recommended much higher tariff than the demand, he said.
Dinakaran also said such an abnormal power cost will lead to permanent closure of over 2,000 spinning mills, which would have cascading effect on hand loom, power loom, garmenting and other labour intensive sectors in the state.
The proposed tariff will be the highest in the country for HT consumers, Dinakaran said and appealed to the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to exempt the ailing textile industry from the tariff hike at least for the next two years.
Meanwhile, Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA) requested the TNERC to reduce the power tariff hike to 20 per cent for exporting units. TNERC had hiked tariff by over 37 per cent.
In a press release, TEA president, A Sakthivel said a special consideration has to be given for the exporters, who have to compete in the international market in a cost effective manner.
The knitwear exporting units have been already affected by various adverse factors and at this juncture, the increase in power tariff to this extent would make them less competitive, he said.
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