1.5 million power employees to protest against privatisation on August 18

Warn of intensified agitation if Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020 is not withdrawn

About 1.5 million government sector power employees in India, including engineers, today announced that they would hold nationwide protests on Tuesday seeking the withdrawal of Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020 and would oppose the privatisation of state-owned power distribution companies (discoms).

All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) chairman Shailendra Dubey said the process of privatising electricity distribution in Union Territories (UT), Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam (Varanasi) and three discoms of Odisha was on, while a power utility, Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU), had already been handed over to Tata Power in Odisha.

“We will observe Protest Day on August 18 seeking the withdrawal of Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and to oppose the privatisation process of the state power utilities in India,” he told Business Standard.

On the call of National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEEE), he said, more than 1.5 million power employees will hold protest meetings and demonstrations across the country against privatisation on Tuesday.

He claimed after opposition by 11 states and two UTs in power ministers’ conference on July 3, union power minister R K Singh had committed to place a modified draft of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020. “But even after more than 45 days, the Centre has not placed the amended draft on public domain and is proceeding with its plan of privatisation of power distribution wing of union territories mainly Puducherry , Chandigarh , J&K & Ladakh.”

Simultaneously, the Uttar Pradesh government has started the process of privatisation of Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam, and Odisha government has started the privatisation process of three discoms viz. NESCO, WESCO & SOUTHCO. “Odisha has handed over CESU to Tata Power, which has created resentment amongst our power employees.”

Meanwhile, NCCOEEE has written to the union power ministry to publish the modified version of the Bill. It has also appealed to the chief ministers of 11 states and 2 union territories, who had opposed the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 seeking their “continued support in the struggle to keep access to electricity for all at an affordable cost.”

AIPEF reiterated its view point that the privatisation and urban distribution franchisee model had “miserably failed” in Odisha, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Agra, Greater Noida, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar and other places.

“Now imposing the same failed model on the states in the name of financial help is nothing but blackmail which is not accepted and will be vehemently opposed by the power employees and engineers,” Dubey asserted.

He said the August 18 demonstration would be a peaceful symbolic protest, however if the Centre and the states did not withdraw the privatisation process, then the power employees across India would be forced to resort to “democratic agitation steps” and the responsibility of which will be of the Centre and the states.”