Dr. Dipen Agrawal President Chamber of Associations of Maharashtra Industry & Trade (CAMIT) called upon Dr. Nitin Raut, (Minister for Energy, New & Renewable Energy GoM) and discussed the issue of Power Shortage and proposed load shedding and submitted a memorandum in regards.
Dr. Dipen Agrawal, President CAMIT, said Poor electricity supply is widely recognised as a key impediment to firm growth and productivity. Trade and Industry as a whole suffers from Power cuts, With 15 out of 27 IMD Locations recording more than 40 degrees in Maharashtra and Vidarbha topping with 44.7 degrees it becomes even more difficult for Shops, Trade, Commerce, Agriculture and Industry as a whole to operate without proper power. This directly effects the productivity, sale and revenue which in turn reduces States Tax collections and as the losses pile up many jobs will also be lost. Uncertain power supply and Uncertainty over supply of power creates confusion and disrupts planning and strategies. The power outages also gives a thumbs down to new investments across sectors in Trade, Commerce and Industry. Load Shedding has effects on Agriculture as well, Right from Water pumps to processing of agricultural produce everything is disrupted.
Dr. Agrawal appealed to the Minister to do whatever he and the department can to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the consumers and do away with the proposed load shedding. He requested the minister to address the issue by analysing whether it is a power demand – supply mismatch or fuel (coal) crisis, only then the Department can arrive at a solution. He further added that a stable and reliable supply of electricity is essential for almost every aspect of our daily lives and a necessary condition for economic growth.
Dr. Raut assured there is no load shedding implemented as of now and it is expected that month of May would pass smoothly too, MSEDCL is not only buying power from Private generators but also buying from Power Exchanges to the tune of 1500 to 1800 MW of power. He also said that the generation shortfall is mainly due shortage of coal and the same is being sorted out. Adani Power which has a PPA with State has increased the supply to 3000MW.
Dr. Dipen Agrawal on behalf of business community of the state expressed his gratitude towards Dr. Nitin Raut for patiently hearing the issue of Load Shedding and assuring his best efforts to get them addressed by Energy department/ministry.
