Attempts to pass electricity Bill will be opposed: AIPEF

Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 5

The All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has opposed the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022, claiming that privatisation is not good for the power sector.

“The bill, which aims at handing over all profit-making areas to private houses, is pending with the Standing Committee on Energy,” said, AIPEF Chairman Shailandra Dubey. “Meanwhile, the Central Government continues with its privatisation agenda through the Electricity (Amendment) Rules. Any unilateral attempt to pass the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022 in the Budget session will be strongly opposed.”

“In the name of tariff-based competitive bidding, large-scale privatisation of transmission is being carried out, across the country. Despite Coal India having sufficient coal reserves, public sector thermal power plants are being instructed to import coal,” said Dubey, speaking after a meeting of the AIPEF. “While a particular company is making huge profits due to over-invoicing in coal imports, the burden of increasing cost of power generation is falling on the financially poor power distribution companies of the state. The parallel licence in distribution of power is being done at the cost of the state Discoms network,” he added.

The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022, was presented in Parliament in August 2022, but due to opposition by most of the parties in the Lok Sabha, it was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy. This committee is yet to submit its report.

AIPEF spokesperson VK Gupta said the standing committee has not held dialogue with AIPEF or any other power workers’ federations so far. “The biggest stakeholders in the power sector, the consumers and power workers, have been sidelined, while the standing committee has held detailed talks with representative organisations of corporate houses, banks and the Ministry of Power.”

Dubey said that the Bill is an attempt to push a failed experiment to benefit private players at the cost of state Discoms. “Such experiments of urban distribution franchisee have failed miserably in many cities across the country as state governments were compelled to cancel these agreements,” he added.

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