Power engineers body for putting electricity amendment Bill on hold

Power engineers body All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has sought that the government put on hold the Electricity Amendment Bill till the proposals have been discussed in detail with all the states and other stakeholders.

"AIPEF has urged the Government of India to put on hold the proposed electricity amendment bill...(and) their concerns should be addressed," AIPEF said in a statement.

In its meeting held in Dehradun, the organisation said it deliberated on the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act 2003. The representatives of 16 states participated in the deliberations, the statement said.

"The Federation has demanded review of power policies of last two decades before going on for any further amendments and experiments in already ailing power sector due to wrong energy policies of successive state & central governments," AIPEF Chairman Shaliender Dubey was quoted as saying in the statement.

The federation has already submitted memorandum of objections on Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2014, and demanded that this must be discussed in detail by the Ministry of Power with its representatives before placing it in Parliament.

Dubey demanded that the points already agreed upon by Power Minister Piyush Goyal should be added to the draft Bill.

According to the body, the agreed points include that the amendment Bill should have an enabling provision in the Act and not be mandatory for states; no cherry picking to be allowed and all the supply licenses will have universal power supply obligation; no compulsion to introduce private power distribution licences and states to have the option to go for all state-owned power supply licensees.

Besides, states will have to submit the road-map in five years and there will not be any time limit to implement it.