ELECTRICITY workers and engineers under the banner of the National Co-ordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE) have decided to resort to two-day nationwide strike/work boycott on January 8 and 9 against the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2018 and privatization policies of central and state Governments. VK Gupta, Spokesperson of the All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF), told The Political and Business Daily, that Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2018, further divides the unbundled electricity industry as the distribution company will carry the electricity to the point of consumption and selling electricity to consumer will be done by supply licensee. The motive of bill was to separate the loss making component from profit making component and hand over the profitable part to private sector while keeping loss making part with government. He said that the AIPEF was dismayed that the motive of the Bill was to create scope of business for private enterprises in power distribution without any investment. Gupta termed the draft amendment to the Electricity Act, 2003 “very dangerous”, saying the proposed changes were aimed at benefitting the big power companies. He further alleged that the draft amendment would result in a steep hike in power tariff, thereby making it unaffordable even for the middle class, let alone farmers and the poor. States across the country give subsidised electricity to various categories of consumers, including farmers and this is one of the primary reasons why many distribution companies across the country are in huge debt currently. If a consumer gets the subsidy directly in his bank account, the centre expects that the distribution company would not accumulate more debt, he added. The Government was pushing the Bill, meant clearly for the profit of private companies, on the false premise that competition will lead to better services for consumers. But the fact was that it was bound to lead to the supply of electricity becoming more expensive in a country where nearly 30 crore people were still without electricity.