Punjab industry holds protest against power regulatory measures

Chandigarh, July 10 

Several industrial associations of Punjab on Saturday held a protest in Ludhiana against the power regulatory measures imposed on factories, amid an electricity crisis in the state.

As part of the measures to deal with the shortage, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has cut down supply to factories, including to rolling mills and induction furnaces, till July 11.

The PSPCL has stated that the regulatory measures were imposed in the wake of a prolonged dry spell, rising demand for power from the agricultural sector and outage of units of the Talwandi Sabo Power plant.

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The protesting associations claimed that industrial units have been forced to shut down in the wake of cutting down of power supply to factories, which were limping back to normalcy following an adverse impact on their operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Industry representatives under the banner of the All Industries and Trade Forum burnt an effigy symbolising the state government and said it had not been able to provide sufficient power supply for meeting committed domestic and international orders.

They claimed that due to the PSPCL's measures, industrial units had suffered huge losses because of lack of production

Ludhiana-based industrialist Narinder Bhamra accused the state government and the PSPCL of mismanaging the power crisis.

He said if the state government failed to provide power supply, inudtrailist would hand over the keys of their units to the state government.

Meanwhile, the power utility PSPCL on Saturday allowed the industry in Ludhiana and some other parts to use a maximum up to 100 KVA load of power from 8 am till 8 pm till July 14, said the industry.

Punjab is reeling under an unprecedented power shortage, with urban and rural areas facing frequent power cuts and voltage fluctuations, amid scorching heat. — PTI

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