May 23, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 17, 1429

LARKANA, May 22: Three hundred rice mills out of one thousand in Sindh and Balochistan have switched over to generators and oil engines due to unrelenting electricity problem.

Secretary Sindh Balochistan Rice Millers and Traders Association Arif Mahesar confirmed the switchover and predicted more to be following suit if status quo maintained.

He said heavy and unstable power tariffs were key reasons of the move as millers repeatedly approached Hesco for regular power supply for running the mills. Instead, unannounced power breakdowns along with low voltage and highly-inflated bills compelled millers to think for an alternate source, said Arif Mahesar.

Despite this Hesco was earning some Rs800 million from rice mills alone, he said and added: ‘Incorrect and inflated bills, low voltage, detection bills, and loadshedding were hampering the performance of mills of the two provinces.”

Sudden power failures not only damage electric gadgets but also harm motors thus obstructing function of the mills, he said.

He said each mills contributes around Rs1.2 million yearly in bills while their conversion to generators will reduce the volume of Hesco revenue.

Mr Mahesar said that so far 150 rice mils had been permanently closed down due above mentioned reasons and if the practice continued more may opt for alternate source of power generation thereby further shrinking the revenue.—BoC