The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) has slapped hefty penalties on tea factories in the Nilgiris for alleged violation of regulations.

The factories reopened on March 29 after a few days of lockdown. They have been required to follow positive technical provisions regarding power aspect (PF) and most demand (MD).

“Machines suffer from normal wear and tear and consequently we’re required to fix some defective sections of these technical components but this can be completed most effective by means of electrical engineers who’ve to return from Coimbatore and different places,” L Vairavan, Secretary, the Nilgiri Bought Leaf Tea Manufacturers’ Association, instructed BusinessLine.
“Because of travel regulations, those engineers are not able to take care of the faults now,” he said. “Also, we’re not able to get the spareparts due to lockdown.”

“In all, the penalties might amount to lakhs of rupees. At a time while the authorities desires all departments to go slow on collections, TNEB has levied consequences that factories can not come up with the money for to pay for the duration of the lockdown,” Vairavan stated.

“We have, therefore, requested the Superintending Engineer of TNEB to waive consequences until the lockdown is lifted,” he introduced.

Meanwhile, TNEB has counseled consumers to fix the Electricity Leak Control Board (ELCB) to the mail board and prevent injuries because of leakage.