AP govt announces addl power holiday for ind

By Vivin Mathew & Vishwanath Pilla, CNBC-TV18

It is a grim situation in Andhra Pradesh. The state is staring at a major power shortfall in the coming months. The government has announced an additional power holiday for industries.

The power crisis in Andhra Pradesh has got bad to worse. With no rain in sight, the power shortfall in Andhra Pradesh is likely to exceed over 2,000 mw, of which Hyderabad will suffer a shortfall of 700 mw. The government has gone into overdrive mode. It has added another power holiday for industries, apart from the four-hour power-cut for domestic users. This decision has sent shock waves through the industry. The industry representatives met Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy to ask for at least five days of uninterrupted power supply along with load-shedding spread over a couple of days.

But the government says this was the last resort. Currently, it provides power for industrial use at Rs 3.75 per unit, a rate which is one of the lowest in the country.

Shabbir Ali, Power Minister, Andhra Pradesh, said “We are buying 400mw power at Rs 6 per unit and during peak time we are using Naptha which comes to us around Rs 12 per unit and supplying to industry at Rs 3.75. We don't want the industry to suffer. But we have no other way to go until we have rains in AP or other states"