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Maharashtra slaps curbs on industry, power outage

India's most heavily industrialised state, Maharashtra, has ordered industry in eight districts to operate only at off-peak hours until June 4 due to storm-caused damage to the power distribution network.

A state government official said industries in the affected areas have been ordered to operate only between midnight and 0700 IST, restricting output to one shift.

The order was issued following a nearly four-hour power outage early Wednesday in the state capital Mumbai, and brownouts almost daily in recent weeks around the state due to surging demand to power air-conditioners during the hottest month of the year.

The eight districts are Pune, Solapur, Kolhapur, Satara and Sangli in western Maharashtra, Parbhani and Nanded in eastern Maharashtra, and Nagpur in the north of the state.

Affected companies include Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Ltd, India's biggest truck maker, and Bajaj Auto Ltd, the second-largest motorcycle maker. Both have major plants in Pune.

Other affected companies include auto rickshaw and light truck maker Bajaj Tempo, boiler maker Thermax Ltd, auto parts maker Bharat Forge and the Kirloskar group.

The state has power production capacity of 9,767 MW and is experiencing a peak demand shortage of around 1,500 MW, according to the Maharashtra State Electricity Board.

A storm on May 17 damaged towers supporting transmission lines carrying power from the Chandrapur and Parli power stations.

"Though the work to repair these structures has been going on a war footing, it will not be completed before June 3," a financial daily, quoted state chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh as saying after a weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

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