Energy Dept's decision to cut incentives for MSMEs that waste power should be properly calibrated: KASSIA

New Delhi, May 4 (KNN) The Karnataka Energy Department is considering reducing incentives to the MSMEs in case they are using excess power or found wasting it.  State Energy Minister Shivakumar said that the prolonged drought and excess power consumption is the main reason behind the power crisis in the region.

Therefore his Ministry has decided to implement number of steps to address the issue. One such step being penalising the industry units in case they are found misusing or overusing power

This decision has drawn sharp reaction from the industry.

A Padmanabha, President of the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association  (KASSIA) said it is very rare to see any micro or small scale enterprise indulging in misuse or excess use of power supplies since they work on ‘shoe string’ budget.  Therefore an announcement that the industry would be punished by a cut in the incentives needs to be explained properly.

He further said that the main problem in the region is the errant power supply and lack of good quality power, the authorities should focus on addressing these issues over imposing penalty on the industry.

The President further said that such a decision may result in a negative signal to the industry.

Padmanabha also commented upon the Power Minister’s decision to instruct all Escoms mandating the farmers to use the efficient and less power driven IP Sets. He sees it as a good move towards tackling the problem of shortage of power supply in the region. (KNN/ DA)