No power cuts in industries from May this year, assures K Chandrasekhar Rao

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao assured industries that there will be no power cuts in the sector from May this year.

"Everybody questioned about availability of power for the industry. But, I assure you 100 per cent that you can forget power cuts to industry from May. There will be round-the-clock power supply and no power cuts from May," he said on Wednesday.

He was addressing the CII Telangana annual meeting and public session on Mapping Industrial Growth by Tapping Sectors of Advantage in Telangana.

"The situation is vulnerable currently with a power deficit situation. The existing thermal power capacity is 4,320 MW and top most priority is to overcome this deficit," he said, adding that 2,300 MW will be added by end of 2015.

With several power projects in the offing, there will be comfortable position (on power front) by 2016 and Telangana will be a power surplus state by 2017, Rao said.

"There could be few (power supply) disruptions from March end to first week of April... once we pass through the summer as agricultural load is expected to go down, there will be no power cuts for industry from May," the CM said.

He said that a toll-free service will be started to solve power-cut related issues.

"I will give you a toll-free number. If you face power cut problems from May, you can call on the number," Rao said. Power holidays (4-8 days a month of load shedding) were put up for industrial consumers in the state last year in view of the shortage of power in Telangana.

The government will ensure proper industrial land availability and that there is no power cut, transparent governance with clean and corruption-free model and business friendly administration with fast industrial clearances, he said.

"There will be a chasing cell in the CMO which will look into processing of applications of industries pertaining to all departments," the chief minister said.

He further said a new pharma city is coming up in Mucherla in Khammam district in over 11,000 acres. It will also have a pharma university.