Industry rues over unscheduled power cuts, labour pangs in Ludhiana

Unscheduled power cuts in the city have irked everyone, especially the industrial sector, where production has dropped drastically due to unannounced outages in recent days.

Industrialists said they are yet to recover from labour shortages caused by the ongoing harvesting season and gas shortages, and now the power cuts have further added to their woes.

Meanwhile, Punjab’s Minister for Industries and Power, Sanjeev Arora, claimed that the state has sufficient power and that the cuts are being implemented to upgrade transformers, wires, grids, and other infrastructure under the Powercom Department.

Badish Jindal, president of the World MSME Forum, told The Tribune that Industrial Area C houses around 10,000 factories, most of them steel units. However, frequent power cuts are causing a significant drop in production. He explained that during outages, machines stop abruptly and cool down, and reheating them takes 1-2 hours. In such situations, partially heated material can also get damaged.

Industry body FICO has demanded an immediate solution to the unscheduled power cuts from PSPCL. Gurmeet Singh Kular, President of FICO, emphasised that power is a crucial raw material for industry, and its quality directly affects production efficiency. He pointed out that industrial areas frequently face outages, along with poor power quality, voltage fluctuations, and unannounced cuts. He urged authorities to ensure a reliable and high-quality power supply.

Avtar Singh Bhogal, a leading industrialist from the bicycle sector, said the industry’s condition is already very poor. He added that when power cuts are officially announced, they should be implemented as per schedule.

“But what happens is that if a power cut is announced for Tuesday, factories give workers a day off accordingly. However, the cuts are actually imposed on other days like Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, making it difficult for industries to plan production,” Bhogal said. He added that the industry is already struggling due to labour shortages, as many workers have not returned from their native places, and the additional burden of power cuts is worsening the situation.

Minister’s take:

Sanjeev Arora said that both the Industries and Power portfolios are with him and that he aims to upgrade both sectors. “We are upgrading transformers, grids, poles, and laying new wires. Planned shutdowns have been announced for maintenance and repair work. Otherwise, we have surplus power, and sufficient coal stock is available at all thermal plants. There is no shortage. We will ensure that industry does not suffer,” he said, adding that he is currently on an official visit to Europe regarding Invest Punjab.