They’ve Got The Power
By sparing Chennai and its periphery, which attracted significant investments in manufacturing, electronics and automobiles in recent times, TN authorities have given investors the impression that the state is power sufficient. For instance, the Nokia facility in Sriperumbudur, outside Chennai, faces no power problems. Industry players in other parts of the state, however, have legitimate cause to fret.
“If power shortage is distributed evenly, it would help reduce power cuts by at least half,” says K. V. Srinivasan, chairman of the Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA). When the power crisis peaked, SIMA wanted the government to announce outage timings.
“We are ready to give up 10 per cent of our maximum demand. But the government should make scheduled power cuts,” concurs Jayakumar Ramdass, managing director of Coimbatore-based Mahendra Pumps. Distribution of outages, however, continues to be uneven.
Sweating It Out
Power accounts for 15-20 per cent of costs, depending on the industry. Energy intensive sectors such as foundries, chemicals, polymer and processing units gobble up 30-40 per cent. A severe shortage coupled with escalating costs can easily wipe-out entire margins.
“Those who ran three shifts a day are still incurring losses. Others are just about managing to get work done,” says P. T. Krishnamoorthy, who runs a chemical unit near Madurai. With a utilisation loss of 10-15 per cent, a 25,000-spindle mill stands to lose Rs 1.5 crore annually. Spinning mills account for 47 per cent of the state’s high tension (HT) consumers and nearly a third of revenues. The textile industry in TN, the largest consumer of power in the state’s industrial sector, stands to lose close to Rs 1,000 crore a year as a fallout of the power crunch.
For the pumpset industry, sales peak in summer. But, “We will not be in a position to supply enough pumpsets this season,” says V. Krishnakumar, general manager, marketing, Aquapump Industries, part of Coimbatore-based Texmo, one of the largest pumpset manufacturers in the country.
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