Industries force Bescom to 'unplug' meter order

Power play: Domestic consumers need not worry for now

Bescom, which was unwilling to withdraw its order to shift the meters, has now buckled under pressure from industrialists, after they explained about their inability to Minister for Medium and Large Industries, Murugesh Nirani and Energy Secretary, K Jairaj.

“We told the Minister about the order and our inability to comply with it considering the recession. Even our cash flow is poor and not many of us are able to bear the cost. The minister has assured us that he will direct the Bescom to withdraw the order,” said J R Bangera, Vice President, Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FKCCI).

Assurance

Earlier the industrialists had met Energy Secretary and had briefed him about the situation. “The Energy Secretary gave us a patient hearing and assured us to talk to the Bescom officials to withdraw the order,” said a member, who had participated in the meeting.

Though Bescom had not issued any official notification to withdraw the order, the industrialists said that following this, there is not much pressure from the authorities to shift within a deadline. “We are not facing much pressure now, earlier there were regular inspection and even notices. All that has stopped now and we hope the trouble is over,” says Hanumanthegowda, President, Bangalore North Small Scale Industries Association (BANSSIA).

Explaining about the problems associated with the implementation of the order, Bangera said most of the total 65,000 SSIs in the City are finding it impossible to implement it.
“Some industries do not have space, while many are running their industries in rented sheds, where permission has to be sought from the landlords. It is not an easy task,” Bangera explained.

However, the matter seems to be not over as Tushar Girinath, Managing Director, Bescom said, “It is not total withdrawal of the order, but we will address their problems. I will issue a new notification on Friday,” he said.

DH News Service

Faux pas

Bescom Managing Director Tushar Girinath has clarified that the order does not apply to domestic consumers.

Though the order never included the domestic consumers, Bescom authorities are forcing them too to shift the meters. “It was meant for just industries and commercial establishments, but our officers went ahead to include the domestic consumers too,” he added.