High power costs: MSME unit owners stage hunger protest in Coimbatore

MSMEs in Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode districts went on hunger strike on September 7 to demand attention to impact of high electricity cost in Tamil Nadu

Over 3,000 owners of Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSME) units in Coimbatore, Tiruppur, and Erode districts went on a hunger protest at Karanampettai in Tiruppur district on Thursday, September 7, to draw the attention of the Tamil Nadu Government to the impact of high power cost.

The Tamil Nadu Industrial Electricity Consumers Federation had called for the protest to highlight the plight of MSME units in Tamil Nadu because of the hike in power costs last September.

Jayabal, president of Recycle Textile Federation, said members of nearly 90 textile associations took part in the protest that began at about 9.30 a.m. Representatives of some of the MSME industrial associations in Madurai, Tiruchi, and Salem had also extended support to the protest.

The protestors said while they accepted revision of power consumption charges, the introduction of peak hour charges for MSMEs, steep hike in demand charges, and collection of electricity tariff under LT III A 1 instead of LT III B for those with less than 12 KW connection had made these units uncompetitive.

According to J. James, president of Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Tiny Enterprises, the Federation has decided that since the protest on Thursday had not reached the government’s attention, all MSME units in the State will send individual letters listing their electricity-related demands through email, speed post and courier to the Chief Minister from September 11 to 24 and hoist black flags at the units for a day on September 25.