Fapcci urges govt to provide power through open access

The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Fapcci) has urged the state government to provide power through the open access system in the state.

“The state has been facing one to four hours of power cuts daily for the last 10 days and is seeing power shortage of 1,200-1,800 Megawatt per day,” MV Rajeshwara Rao, secretary general of Fapcci, said while addressing the media on power cuts and its impact on economic growth, here.

A two-hour power cut a day can result in a loss of 10 per cent in industrial production.

The industrial growth has already slumped to a nine-month low at 5.6 per cent in May this year, as compared with 8.5 per cent last year. Last year, industrial activity suffered a loss of 30 per cent on account of power cuts, said Devendra Surana, senior vice-president, Fapcci.

The major reasons for the power crisis are unavailability of hydropower in the state, slowdown of the existing power plants, and water shortage at the Srisailam project. Besides, the Nagarjunasagar water is being used for agricultural purposes.

“Agricultural loads have increased due to inadequate rainfall. Even domestic and commercial demand has increased. Around 30 volts of power differentiation is there in the day and night connection, which is affecting industrial output,” Rao added.

To tackle the issues, some states including Punjab and Tamil Nadu have adopted the open access system, where any company can buy its required power from the power exchange. The power exchange is a kind of stock exchange, where the price per unit keeps changing on an hourly basis. Fapcci Energy Committee chairman V Anil Reddy said the state was facing problems in going for the open access system due to cross subsidy.