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Looking back-Indian power sector 2020

VINOD GUPTA | January 02, 2021 02:54 PM

CHANDIGARH: The power sector of India remained in turmoil this year due to the number of happenings whether due to lockdown or move to privatise the power sector.

With the breakout of Covid in March this year the power  demand in the country took a sharp dip after the announcement of lockdown as there was a complete shut  down of industrial, commercial, and railways.This power demand dip  adversely affected the revenue of state power utilities (Discoms) as their major source of income were blocked.

In the midst of a pandemic, when the economy of the whole nation is paralyzed and administration is in doldrums, the Union power ministry  released a a draft of Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 on April 18 to amend the Electricity Act 2003.

All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) strongly condemns the timings of Power Ministry move to bring back the  Electricity Amendment bill 2020.

The  draft Electricity Amendment Bill 2020  calls for the creation of an Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority (ECEA), proposes a National Renewable Energy Policy and mandates payment security as necessary for scheduling of electricity and facilitates  cross border electricity trade. The draft seeks privatisation of discoms by way of sub-licensing & franchisees.

11 states and one union territory opposed many provisions of the Electricity Amendment Bill 2020. The states termed the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 against the spirit of the Constitution and contradictory to the decentralization of power for States in view of its emphasis on the center's control of the power sector despite its inclusion in the concurrent list.

Under the Aatam Nirbhar Bharat announcements, Finance Minister  Nirmala Sitharaman on May 16 announced the privatisation of power  distribution companies (Discoms) in the Union Territories (UTs).

The government used lockdown as an opportunity to privatize the  power departments of union territories bypassing the public opinion and without giving any time to stakeholders to discuss the issue.

lakhs of power sector engineers and employees held peacefully  protest s across the country against privatisation of Discoms and the Electricity Amendment Bill 2020, on August 18.

The power ministry circulated a  draft standard bidding document on September 20 for discoms for the privatization of distribution licensees. It provides guidelines for  states who want to offer their electricity distribution utilities to  private players.The intention of the Ministry of Power in rushing  through SBD is not to reform the power sector, but to thrust privatization of the power sector across the country.

Farmers are also protesting the draft electricity amendment bill as they fear that their subsidised power will be taken away with the passage of time after the private companies take over the power distribution. The center has now  agreed to drop those provisions of the draft Electricity Amendment Bill,   which are intended to change the existing mode of subsidy payment to consumers.

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