Frequent, long power cuts hit industry production in NCR

NEW DELHI: Frequent power cuts in the National Capital Region ( NCR) have forced industrial units, mainly small ones, to curtail production by about 25 per cent in the last one month, a survey has said.

"Acute power shortage in NCR has severely impacted small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in April compared to March. This has resulted into cut in SMEs' output by about 25 per cent," Assocham said in a survey.

If this scenario continues, industrial production in Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Faridabad is expected to curtail to the extent of 40-45 per cent by July, particularly in manufacturing units who have no alternative means to produce power, it added.

"The power crisis will be a disaster for SME sector as about 3.5 lakh such units are engaged in manufacturing sector in NCR, employing about 6 million people," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.

Due to power deficit, companies are unable to put their machinery to optimum use which would cause massive loss of production and employment, he added.

The survey said majority of respondents feel that massive shortage of electricity has become a big stumbling block to smooth functioning.

Unscheduled power cuts have forced industry to use diesel generators, which are turning out to be a costly proposition, it said.