Punjab power engineers in support to UT powermen; criticized policy of union government of blind privatisation
Kanwar Inder singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ December 9,2024
PSEB Engineers Association (PSEBEA) today held at head office Patiala in support of the struggle of UT Chandigarh power men against privatisation of Chandigarh electricity department and Uttar Pradesh Electricity Employees and Engineers protest against move to privatise the Agra and Varanasi distribution companies.
Padamjit Singh Chief Patron said that the private players are coming for profits only and ultimately the cost of these private profits will be borne by the electricity consumers. If such policies continue, ordinary consumers will have to pay very high rates of electricity similar to being paid in Mumbai and other Discoms that have been privatised.
Ajay Pal Singh Atwal general secretary said that Chandigarh is a profit making department and still being privatised. The UP government failed to clear subsidy bills and government defaulting amounts and is now blaming power employees for this situation.
Meanwhile, the Subordinate Engineers Association (SEA) staged protests at various places where the speakers emphasised that consumers and employees are the largest stakeholders in the power sector, and their perspectives must be prioritised in any decision-making process. They demanded a rollback of privatisation proposals and called for a transparent valuation of power assets worth billions of rupees by a committee comprising employee and consumer representatives, informed V K Gupta.
Shailendra Dubey convener Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti of Uttar Pradesh said that cost of supply in Uttar Pradesh is Rs.7.85 per unit whereas the maximum tariff for domestic consumers is Rs.6.50 per unit. 80% of the cost of supply of electricity is based on the cost of power purchase and that cannot be reduced. The present setup is based upon service to consumers while the private sector is to further their business.
Meanwhile , 27 trade unions in Uttar Pradesh extended wholehearted support to power employees in the fight against privatisation of Discoms. All trade unions have sought scrapping of the process to privatise two Discoms in Uttar Pradesh and handing over Chandigarh electricity department to a private company.
