Volumes of production in garment units declined by around 30 per cent due to unpredictable electricity failures that also doubled the cost of production in steel units

Frequent outages without prior notice are hitting hard manufacturing industries across the country with small and medium units suffering the most, industry people said.( The New Age BD

Volumes of production in garment units declined by around 30 per cent due to unpredictable electricity failures that also doubled the cost of production in steel units and raised energy bills in potato cold storages by at least 20 per cent.

‘We estimate production in knitwear units declined by around 30 per cent during the past couple of weeks due to frequent and unwarranted outages,’ said Fazlul Hoque, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Small and medium units, especially those which only cut and sew garments and do not have captive power generators, are the worst sufferers, said Hoque.

‘The worst thing is that factory operators are not knowing beforehand when power will be off and for how long, so that they cannot plan production hours,’ he said.

The knit industry leader warned that many of the exporters would risk missing shipment deadlines or opt for air transportation, which will eat into their profit.

Jashim Uddin, chairman of the Bangladesh Cold Storage Association, said cost of energy uses in their units increased by at least 20 per cent due to erratic power outages in recent days.

He cited that once the cooling units, especially their high efficiency motors in the cold storages, were switched off, huge units of energy were required to restart those.

‘Temperatures rise inside units due to system failures, while outages are feared to hamper the quality of potatoes both for human consumptions or seeds,’ he said.

Owners of steel and re-rolling units claimed that blackouts without prior notices were doubling their production costs.

‘Melting of scraps or cutting rods to size requires uninterrupted heating process for hours. Once furnaces get cooled due to sudden electricity failures, they need huge electricity and time to regain the required heat,’ described Mizanur Rahman Babul, president of the Bangladesh Steel Mill Owners Association.

Steel mills need quality supply of both gas and electricity to run their operation, he said.

He claimed that cost of energy uses for producing each tonne of rod increased to at least Tk 6,000 in recent days from usual average of Tk 3,200 or Tk 3,400.

‘If authorities could serve prior notices on outages we could save a lot by rearranging production cycles,’ said Babul.

Owners of several re-rolling units claimed that outages were not only raising their costs of production, but also forcing them to reduce outputs significantly.

They cited that disturbances in production were also greatly contributing to the steep rises in rod prices while manufacturers were struggling with rocketing global prices of steel raw materials.

‘Industries in every sector are suffering badly due to acute electricity shortage in recent times,’ said Annisul Huq, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

If authorities could arrange prior notifications about power outages, industries could schedule their production hours accordingly, check production loss and cut cost, he said.

Business sources told New Age that a delegation of FBCCI leaders raised their concerns in a meeting with chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed on Tuesday, but returned without any quick fix.

‘We have shortage in production of power. As supply of electricity for irrigation is more vital, the authorities are unwillingly cutting power supply to industries and urban areas,’ Fakhruddin was quoted to have said.

The New Age BD