Centre’s plan to tweak power Act 2003 riles Captain govt

PATIALA : Terming the proposed amendment in the Electricity Act, 2003, as against the federal structure governing Centre-State relations, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has written a dissent note to the Centre on the issue. Power engineers of the state have dubbed the proposed changes as a way to privatise the sector.

“It will lead to endless disputes,” said Shilender Dubey, All-India president, Power Engineers Association and Sanjiv Sood, president, PSEB Engineers Association. Previously, Punjab had also opposed the National Health Insurance Scheme and an amendment pertaining to the Medical Council of India.

Punjab cabinet minister Brahm Mohindra, who presided over a meeting of the Power Engineers Association, on Thursday, said, “Through this amendment, the Centre has tried to infringe the rights of the state, which is against the federal structure of the country. The subject of Power is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, where the Centre cannot take a unilateral decision. I don’t know why the Centre is trying to dictate terms on issues which are on the Concurrent List, be it health, power or other such subjects.”

“The CM has written a strong letter to the Centre. Our state already has a proven track record in providing the best service to consumers. We don’t want to change the present setup. Our MPs will oppose it in the Lok Sabha,” said Mohindra, who presided over the function in place of chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, who is indisposed. “Let me assure you that Punjab will not accept any illegitimate proposal of the Centre. We are with the power engineers,” Mohindra responded to their demand.

Explaining the amendment, Dubey added, “If the amendment goes through, there will be separate supply licences, incumbent supply licence and an intermediate company, to handle all Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). This is against the present system of each state pooling the availability of power. This ensured that each state got power at the least cost. The cost to consumers will increase.” Sood added, “The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions are guided by tariff policy, whereas in the draft amendment, tariff policy will become mandatory. The regulators will no longer be independent.”

POWER ENGINEERS OF THE STATE HAVE DUBBED PROPOSED CHANGES AS A WAY TO PRIVATISE THE SECTOR