Telco, Bajaj Auto, Kinetic Engineering, Philips, Thermax, Spaco, Bajaj Tempo and 400-odd small and medium scale units shut off MESB power today in response to the call given by the apex body of the Maharatta Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI). Industries state-wide decided to shut off power between 11 am and 12 noon and between 7.30 pm and 8 pm as a mark of protest on Monday when the winter session of the State Assembly was slated to commence. All continuous process industries will use generating sets during this period.

According to the industrialists, there has been a steep hike in tariff which is as high as 55 per cent where the connected power is of 20 HP. The industry claimed a 100 per cent response to their agitation. Additional secretary general of MCCI D K Abhyankar, Suryakant Pathak of Grahak Peth submitted a memorandum to the district collector and the Divisional Commissioner.

Reacting to appeals made by MCCI to switch off electrical appliances during this period, Shetji said that this would have no impact on the total load since the tap changers installed with every transformer ensure that there would be no voltage fluctuations. Moreover, the power is generated as per the requirement of the people.

Additional secretary general Abhyankar revealed that the chairman of MSEB Ashok Basak had sent a letter to the chamber advising them not to go ahead with the agitation. The letter also mentioned that the tariff hike was just seven per cent and hence it was not proper on the part of the industries to generate. However, Abhyankar maintained that the power tariff was as high as 55 per cent for the small and medium scale industries.

A meeting of the apex body will be shortly convened to chalk out the future plan of action.

When contacted, MSEB officials maintained that it would be difficult to ascertain the cumulative impact of the closure of so many industries at a time.