AP govt announces power holiday from April 8 to 22

The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday announced the power holidays to be observed once every week starting from April 8 to April 22. The announcement was made by Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Corporation Limited (SPDCL) Chairman and Managing Director Haranath Rao, wherein he clarified that the decision has been made in order to compensate for the loss the industry has suffered in the past few years due to the pandemic.

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday announced the power holidays to be observed once every week starting from April 8 to April 22. The announcement was made by Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Corporation Limited (SPDCL) Chairman and Managing Director Haranath Rao, wherein he clarified that the decision has been made in order to compensate for the loss the industry has suffered in the past few years due to the pandemic.

Harnath further emphasized that the industries are required to declare another day off in addition to the weekend leave, while the industries that run 24 hours are also required to consume only 50% of their electricity needs. "We are concerned that the pre-2014 conditions will be repeated again in the country causing large-scale damage to workers' employment opportunities."

He also explained that at the office level of the circle, Assistant Engineers in the EEs and Load Monitoring Cell (LMC) perform duties and monitor the power supply, and the execution of this power holiday will be looked after by them. The decision declared around the time when the situations seem to be plummeting, is expected to have a notable impact on industrial production in the state. However, the announcement is being looked at as a potential blow to the ferro companies.

Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Company Ltd (CPDCL) Chairman and MD J. Padma Janardhanareddy said in a statement that the discoms have no choice but to adjust the available power as it has to be given for domestic use as well as for agricultural uses. He also emphasized that the step is an important one in the purview of the upcoming 10th class and other competitive examinations.

These are the restrictions

• Industries must declare another day off in addition to the weekend break
• Only one shift should be maintained before 6 pm during the day
• Industries that operate uninterrupted (24 hours) should consume only 50% of the electricity consumed so far
• The use of ACs in government and private offices, businesses, and shopping malls should be halved
• Advertising hoardings and signboards should not use electricity from 6 pm to 6 am