Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), which represents a large number of textile mills in the organised sector, is exploring various options to meet the energy requirements of its members as the power shortage in the State is expected to increase with the drop in wind energy generation.
SIMA had submitted applications to the Power Exchange India from five member mills that had dedicated feeders.
The association was also in talks with private companies for inter-State and intra-State third party power purchase by individual mills.
The power requirements of the member mills were 550 MW and the connected load of the textile industry in the State was 1,800 MW. The mills in the State now faced 20 per cent power cut apart from peak hour restrictions and two hours load shedding a day.
The power cut could be scheduled so that mills used grid power or the power purchased continuously for a specific period, he suggested. The association also appealed to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to facilitate third party purchase for small and medium-scale units by bundling the demand.