Outage sparks outrage, industry seeks clear view on power crisis

Ludhiana: Contrary to the claims of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and AAP government, where they have termed the power situation as normal in the state, industrialists from Ludhiana said unscheduled power cuts are still a reality in industrial areas.
Industrialists seemed furious that despite alerting PSPCL a month back about possible power shortage, no alternate arrangements have been made to tackle the situation.

Coming down heavily against PSPCL, Harish Dua, executive council member of Apparel Exporters Promotion Council, said, “Unscheduled and long power cuts have hit our production, making lives of businessmen miserable. The worst part is that PSPCL has failed to control the situation, forcing us to shell out money on running our factories on generators which gulp hundreds of litres of diesel every day. It is our request to the state government that it should do something urgently to check power cuts.”
Gurmeet Singh Kular, president of Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organisations (FICO), said, “It is very shocking that both PSPCL and state government have claimed that the power situation is normal in the state, but in reality long power cuts are taking place in the state especially in industrial areas. The government must take this problem very seriously as production loss cost factory owners dear every minute. It will also hurt government revenues too.”
Vinod Thapar, chairman of Knitwear Club, said, “It would be in the best interest of industry if the PSPCL and government clear the air on the power situation in the state and reveals how much is the power demand and how much is the availability. This would help the businessmen get the real picture of the power scenario and plan accordingly by adjusting the weekly offs and even fixing additional offs for their labour. Right now, there is a total confusion and chaos, as PSPCL claims that there are no unscheduled cuts, but power cuts are taking place in reality.”