Raj power crisis: Govt breaches pact, cuts supply to industry

JAIPUR: As per agreements with the state government, the industry is supposed to get uninterrupted power but the recent move to cut power supply is likely to erode investors’ trust in government promises.
But state power minister Bhanwar Singh Bhati on Friday told TOI that the government ‘s priority is to ensure that the common man does not suffer and the government will also restore full power supply to industry as soon as power availability improves.
Bhati said the crisis is across the country which is the reason the power trading exchanges do not have enough power.
“We are ready to pay higher charges to buy power even if they cost 12 paisa a unit. But the exchanges do not have enough power as the demand from across the country has risen suddenly. This is a temporary mechanism,” said Bhati.
In a letter on May 12, Jaipur discom said no power will be available to industrial units from 7pm to 5am. The cut was imposed on a rotational basis on six clusters of industrial zones, meaning they will not get power once a week. However, the industry said as per their agreements for investments in Rajasthan, the government has committed in writing that units will be provided with uninterrupted power.
“It’s a breach of trust. The government gave us in writing to provide continuous power. Now they are cutting our supplies. It has affected our product in a major way. We want the government to follow the terms and conditions of the MoUs,” said a two-wheeler manufacturing company in Alwar.