Strike of Power employees called off

Newsbasket Desk October 6, 2020

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Strike of Power employees called off

Varanasi: The agitating power employees against the proposed privatisation of the Varanasi discom – Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PuVVNL) called off their strike on the second day after the government withdrew the proposal on Tuesday evening.

According to the spokesperson of Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti (VKSSS) Varanasi, Ankur Pandey, after a parley with agitating power employees the government withdrew the proposal of privatization. All the employees have been directed to return to their work.

The electricity department employees including power engineers, sub-divisional officers, executive engineers and superintendent engineers began their work boycott in response to the call of VKSSS. They went on strike on Monday after the talks between the UP Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) management and the VKSSS leaders failed as the management rejected the proposal to introduce reforms without privatising the energy sector.

Strike of Power employees called off

The UP government had given its in-principle approval for the proposed un-bundling of PuVVNL. The company is one of five wholly-owned subsidiaries of the UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL). According to the proposal, PuVVNL will be disbanded into three smaller corporations, which will be privatised later.

According to the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) portal of the Union Power Ministry, as of March 2020, five discom companies in UP incurred a loss of Rs 819 crores. Out of the five power companies in the state, Meerut-based Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam and Kanpur Electricity Supply Company have been profitable while the remaining – Dakshinchal, Madhyamachal and Purvanchal – have been suffering losses. The PuVVNL has suffered the maximum loss at Rs 1,550 crore. The state government has also increased electricity prices in the state, however, losses continue to mount.

The chairman of All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF), Shailendra Dubey reportedly said that when the Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Council (UPSEB) was disbanded in 2000, the annual loss was just Rs 77 crore. But due to mismanagement and policies of the government after its dissolution, this deficit has grown over Rs 95,000 crore.