COIMBATORE: Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Micro Enterprises (TACT) has urged electricity minister R Nirmalkumar to immediately put on hold TNPDCL’s ongoing drive to collect additional security deposits from micro and small enterprises, citing severe financial stress on the sector.In a petition, TACT Coimbatore district president James said Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) is issuing notices demanding that consumers pay a security deposit for 2026-27 amounting to two-thirds of the electricity charges paid in 2025-26, warning that power connections would be disconnected for non-compliance.He alleged that despite calculations based on the past 12 months’ consumption and existing deposits, entrepreneurs are being asked to clear additional amounts “immediately” as part of an aggressive collection process.James said MSMEs are already grappling with high power tariffs, rising raw material costs, industrial taxes, inflation and inadequate pricing for finished goods, and that the sudden enforcement of a practice “not followed for the past 12 years” would push small units into deeper crisis. The association demanded that the deposit collection action be suspended.The petition sought coordinated intervention by the state, stating that regular joint meetings involving MSME-related departments — including electricity, revenue, pollution control, SGST/GST and the district industries centre — are not being held.Pointing to the scale of the sector, James said Coimbatore has around one lakh MSMEs employing more than five lakh workers. He appealed for the chief minister’s action to safeguard the industry.
