Power  Engineers across the country will hold protest demonstrations at power utility headquarters and generating stations against Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021 on  November 29, the first day of the winter session of Parliament.

In a statement here on Sunday, All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) spokesperson V K Gupta said on Sunday that the real objective of the Electricity (amendment ) Bill 2021 is to privatize electricity distribution under the false pretext of giving consumers the choice to choose their distributor with a view to getting cheaper and better service. The electricity distribution will become the monopoly of a particular operator selected to distribute electricity in that city or area.

The Electricity (Amendment) Bill  2021 has been framed as per discussion with
industrial lobby and private players  to facilitate the privatization of power
distribution network to sell off public assets to private
business houses, he added.

 He further said that the main stakeholders of the
 power sector namely electricity consumers and electricity employees should be given the proper opportunity to express their viewpoint on the bill before placing it in Parliament. 
 Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021 should not be passed in Parliament in haste and it  should be referred to the standing committee on the energy of Parliament

  Mr.Gupta further said that the power employees & engineers across the country are agitating against the unilateral approach of the Central Govt to rush through the Bill in Parliament. He said many provisions of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021
 are anti-people and anti-employee and if enacted it will have far-reaching adverse consequences. The electricity amendment bill will put the future of over 25 lakh workers employed by the Discoms as well as their families in danger.

The extensive power  distribution infrastructure of Discoms built in last 70 years with
public money will be provided to private distributors to enable them to distribute electricity without making any investment in building their own infrastructure.
This will slowly turn the Discoms financially sick and they will then be sold away at throw-away prices.
National Co-ordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE)  will be holding a meeting on November 30 in New Delhi to discuss detailed agitational programs during the winter session of the Parliament.