The Hindu Business Line : Kerala Industry Minister to take up power tariff issue for Hindalco

IN a bid to break the stalemate in reopening the smelter unit of Hindalco at nearby Eloor, the State Industry Minister, Mr V.K. Ibrahim Kunju, plans to take it up with the Electricity Minister, according to trade union sources.

Besides, Rajya Sabha Member Mr K. Chandran Pillai and Dr Sebastian Paul, MP, both of CPI (M), would meet the Hindalco Managing Director, Mr Debu Bhattacharya, soon to find a way out to resolve the crisis, Mr K.N. Gopinath, General Convener, Save Indal Trade Union Samiti, told Business Line.

He said the stalemate continued as both the parties involved in the issue, the State Electricity Board and the company management, were sticking to their respective positions.

The Hindalco unit has been closed for over two years due to high power costs. Following the hike in power tariff by the KSEB, the management had pulled down the shutters of the smelter unit from August 1, 2003, and asked 326 workers to stay at home. The company is said to be paying some wages. But to make both ends meet some have taken up jobs outside.

The management was permitted to purchase power from Power Trading Corporation (PTC) by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) in January 2004, but the unit did not take power from PTC saying that the rate offered by the latter was on the higher side, he alleged.

The management had pointed out that the PTC, which had offered power at Rs 2.50 per unit earlier, had raised the tariff later and that coupled with the wheeling charges of 42.5 paise per unit demanded by the KSEB was un-affordable.

According to Mr Gopinath, the KSEB should come out with some concession package enabling the company to obtain power from the PTC. He said that the unit was using 43 MW of power @ Rs 3.38 per unit thus making it the major consumer paying Rs 76 crore a year to the KSEB.

In addition, it was doling out Rs 35 crore towards sales tax every year. Given this situation, the Government should take the initiative to re-open the unit, he said.

The extrusion plant here had been making profits and yet there has not been any effort on the part of the management to re-open the smelter unit.

The extrusion unit of the company here is operated now by using billets brought from the Hindalco's smelter unit in Hirakud. This involved an additional cost on transportation and yet it is found viable, as the power cost in Hirakud was much cheaper, company sources said.

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