Responding to a call of National Co-ordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE), over one lakh Power employees and engineers from all states would join a massive rally in Delhi on Tuesday. The rally is aimed at protesting the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2014 and Privatization of power distribution in Uttar Pradesh and several other states.
All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) chairman Shailendra Dubey said in lucknow on Monday that massive rallies were held throughout the country against the draconian Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2014 at state capitals on March 14 and memoranda addressed to Prime Minister were handed over to state authorities.
Dubey said that AIPEF, All India Power Diploma Engineers Federation, All India Federation of Electricity Employees (AITUC), Electricity Employees Federation of India (CITU), Indian National Federation of Electricity Employees (INTUC), All India Power Mens Federation (AIPMF) and several other unions of state-level are constituent of NCCOEEE.
He said that as per the memorandum, the object of proposed bill was to create avenue for corporate houses to acquire stakes in power sector without any investment.
“Splitting of distribution business into carriage and content will create such scope of business with utilization of network set up by public sector,” he said.
Dube said that two necessary conditions to be achieved prior to taking up the Bill for discussion in Parliament remain unfulfilled. “One, 100 per cent population must be given access to power for which Ministry of Power has set December,2019 as deadline and two, all power utilities must be brought to good financial health and the gap between average cost of supply and average revenue must be bridged,” he said.
Presently actual cost of supply exceeds actual revenue receipt by about 65 paisa per unit.
“The implementation of Electricity Act, 2003 and adverse effects there upon should be reviewed with the target of integrating all -state owned Power utilities and complete hold upon enactment of anti-worker and anti-consumer provisions of the proposed Bill,” Dubey said. The Power engineer leader said that the government should stop enactment of proposed Bill in Parliament without prior discussion with representatives of organizations of Power employees and engineers as assured by former Power Minister in several meetings in 2015 and 2016. “Power is a concurrent subject and proposed amendments must be widely circulated and discussed with all states. The amendments should be kept as enabling and not as mandatory and no time limit be set for the states to decide,” he further added.