Power outages cost India Inc over Rs 43,000 cr

India Inc has suffered a massive loss of over Rs 43,000 crore, in the recently concluded financial year due to non-availability and mismanagement of power, a study says.

"India Inc lost Rs 43,205 crore in financial year 2008-09 due to high occurrence of power outages, both scheduled and non-scheduled," a joint study by Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT) and Emerson Network Power (India) said.

The study further said that the amount of such direct losses has almost doubled since 2003, when these amounted to Rs 22,000 crore.

"In India, while the metros have a challenge on power supply, the interiors reflect a still grave picture. The problem is further compounded by unclean power and other basic constraints like earthing, cabling and lack of a viable infrastructure," Emerson Network Power Managing Director Sandeep Nair told reporters here.

Spread over nine weeks, a total of 850 companies were surveyed in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Pune apart from 17 other Tier II and Tier III industrial centres.

The study has found that sole dependence on the grid for power was down from 14.3 per cent in 2003 and Mumbai continues to be most dependent in this regard.

Power demand-supply gap is bound to remain unchanged for the time being and hence the industry must focus on a contingency plan and business-critical continuity solution to minimise losses.

"Contingency planning is already a part of the Indian business psyche. Over 95 per cent firms have a power source other than grid supply," the study said.