Haryana Power Engineers Association opposes the draft  Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 and has urged the Chief Minister Haryana to seek extension in date up to September 30 for submission of comments in view of lockdown conditions across the country.

KK Malik General Secretary of the Association said that it would be practically and physically impossible to carry out the exercise to discuss in detail and obtain feedback for submission of comments regarding the proposed amendment of Electricity Act 2003 within the time frame of 21 days.

V K Gupta a spokesperson of All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) said that the federation has already represented to Union
Power Minister  that due to the prevailing crisis of extended lockdown , it would be practically  impossible to submit comments
 within the time frame of 21 days and has sought that date  be extended up to September 30.

Gupta further said that Electricity Amendment Bill 2020, which 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. The draft seeks privatization of Discoms by way of sub-licensing & franchisees. This will be complete privatization of the power sector.  Further state regulatory commissions will determine the tariff for the retail sale of electricity without any subsidy under Section 65 of the Act