Bhubaneswar, Aug. 11: The Rourkela Chamber of Commerce and Industries has drawn the attention of the Western Electricity Supply Company (Wesco) to incessant power cuts in industrial estates of the steel city and urged it to take action.

It has highlighted frequent power tripping and unscheduled power cuts at Kalunga, Kalunga Industrial Estate and Vedvyas on the outskirts of Rourkela, which house several micro, small and medium units.

A delegation led by chamber president K.K. Poddar met the Wesco's superintending engineer A.N. Meher and discussed the problem.

Poddar said Meher heard their complaints and assured measures to redress them. "We apprised him about our problems and also the losses we incur. Customers do not feel confident to come to us as we keep failing to meet deadlines," he said. Poddar said the Wesco official has assured them of taking up the matter with higher authorities.

"The superintending engineer informed us that the equipment used by Wesco were over 30 years old and caused frequent cases of tripping," Poddar said.

When contacted, Meher said: "Some of the equipment that are causing frequent tripping need replacement. The problem lies with the switches and cutouts. We will replace them within two weeks."

"We will also apprise the consumers about power cuts for maintenance so that they can prepare accordingly," he said. The industrial units have encountered frequent power disruptions over the past couple of months, severely affecting production.