The North News
New Delhi, March 6
The All India Electricity Consumers’ Association (AIECA) has voiced strong opposition to the privatisation of the power sector and the mandatory installation of smart meters nationwide. Speaking at a national convention held in Delhi, which saw over 900 consumers from various states in attendance, the association warned of the adverse impacts on consumers and employees.
While addressing the gathering, Chairman of the All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) Shailendra Dubey, said that electricity privatisation has been a failed experiment. He highlighted that privatisation in Delhi, Mumbai, and Uttar Pradesh, initiated in 2002, had not undergone a government review on its supposed benefits. He claimed that the process has led to continuous and unjustified electricity tariff hikes, citing the example of Chandigarh’s electricity department being handed over to the private sector despite strong opposition from both employees and consumers. The installation of smart meters across states could lead to job losses for thousands of meter reading and billing employees, Dubey said. He stressed that the biggest stakeholders—consumers and employees—had been sidelined by the government.
Swapan Ghosh, President of AIECA, chaired the convention. Key speakers included, Samar Sinha, President of the All India Power Men’s Federation, Ashok Rao, Patron of AIPEF, Bimal Das, Advisor of AACEA, and A K Jain, alongside other national leaders, according to V K Gupta. Ashok Rao pointed to a World Bank report suggesting that privatisation does not necessarily improve the performance of power distribution companies. He called for an audit of government spending on smart meter installations to assess any tangible gains.
A K Jain warned that while smart meters for industrial consumers are already in place, expanding them to domestic consumers would likely increase tariffs and harm the financial health of power distribution companies (Discoms).
Venugopal, General Secretary of AIECA, announced plans for a protest week in the first week of April to raise consumer awareness about the potential dangers of power privatisation and prepaid meter installations. The association also plans to submit memorandums to the Union Energy Minister through state governors in June and support the June 26 strike by electricity employees against privatisation in states like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Speakers at the convention argued that electricity, as an essential public service, was being systematically handed over to profit-driven private enterprises, transforming it into a commodity for corporate gain. They condemned the forced disconnection of electricity in homes with old meters to facilitate the installation of smart meters, labelling such actions as draconian measures by several state governments.
