Federation appeals to PM not to rush power amendment Bill

Patiala, July 8

All-India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) today appealed to the Prime Minister and the Union Power Minister that the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022, which was referred to the Standing Committee on Energy, should not be rushed through in the coming monsoon session of Parliament starting July 20.

This decision was taken in the federal council meeting held today. It was chaired by Shalindra Dubey, Chairman, and attended by the delegates from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and other states.

Dubey said although the Lok Sabha had referred Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022 to the Standing Committee on Energy, the latter had not held any discussions with power employees or electricity consumers, who are the biggest stakeholders, to date. “The Bill, if enacted, will lead to a few private companies controlling most of the power distribution utilities of the country. The amendments being planned to the Electricity Act by the Centre will lead to the privatisation of the power sector and burden the poor, middle class and farmers with huge tariff increases,” he stated.

The meeting demanded the withdrawal of the Bill, opposed the proposal of parallel licence in electricity distribution using state Discoms transmission network, affecting certain Provisions of the Electricity Amendment Bill through Electricity Amendment Rules, and supported the ongoing agitation by power sector employees in some states against privatisation in state power sector, said V K Gupta, a spokesperson for the federation.