While employees of the power sector have been protesting the government move to privatise distribution companies for a long time, now a consumers’ body has also lodged its opposition to it.
The Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Consumer Council has asked the Electricity Regulatory Commission the logic for the privatisation given that crores have been spent on revamping power distribution and making the companies self-reliant.
The Consumer Council has filed a public interest proposal which notes that in August last year it had given the go ahead for the changes under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme and had asked for a report on updates in six months but that had never been received.
Upwards of Rs 44,000 crores has been spent on discoms under a central assistance schemes to help struggling entities. Of this Rs 7434 crores has gone to Dakshinchal DISCOM, Rs 13,539 crores to Madhnaynchal, Rs 12,695 crores to Paschimanchal, Rs 9481 crores to Purvanchal and Rs 943 crores to KESCO. These discoms are named after the areas they serve.
The Council has objected to the fact that despite spending such huge sums of money, the government wants to hand over the power distribution of 42 districts to private hands.
The body has appealed to the regulatory body to put an end to the privatization bid and demand that it be allowed to look at what improvements, if any, have been made in these companies.
The Council has already written to the Prime Minister and the President demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation in what it alleged is massive fraud in the name of improving the functioning of discoms.
Another issue that the Council has pointed out is the huge amount of money that these companies will make as the government scheme of installing private meters at Rs 40 a piece shall get underway.