Undo decision on power distribution: Engineers
Tribune News Service

Panipat, December 10
The state government’s decision to privatise the distribution systems of electricity in Gurgaon and Panipat has evoked resentment among the rank and cadre of the Haryana Power Engineers Association (HPEA).

They have demanded that the decision be scrapped immediately.

In a statement here today, general secretary of the association Sumer Singh Yadav said the government was privatising the distribution system only in the urban area, even as there was no such provision in the Electricity Act of 2003.

Contradicting the claims being made by the government that the aim of privatising the distribution system was to bring down the transmission losses, the general secretary said the “statement of objectives and reasons” of the Electricity Act envisaged the franchise system only in rural areas.

He said high-revenue cities were being given on distribution franchise to private parties, which was not right.

He said the statement issued by the government that privatisation of the distribution system would bring in efficiency in the private sector management without losing the ownership of assets was not based on facts.

He said companies that would come forward to manage the distribution system would be working with the sole aim of making profit and this could prove detrimental to the interests of consumers.

The private companies would get all assets of the power utility without investing anything and would garner only profits, Yadav said.

The general secretary said there was no law and order problem in collection of revenue in Panipat and Gurgaon, which were the highest revenue-generating centres for the power utility.

He said through the privatisation of the distribution system, employees of the power utility would become employees of the private company.

He said power engineers and workers of Haryana would hold a joint meeting on Saturday to discuss the issue and press up on the government to scrap the move.