The All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has flayed the central government for the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025.
In its submission to the Centre, AIPEF has demanded withdrawal of the Bill as “it is aimed at to privatise the whole power sector which will be suicidal to farmers and domestic consumers.”
AIPEF Chairman Shailendra Dubey said if implemented, the Bill will dismantle the integrated and socially driven electricity framework built over decades, and hand over the most profitable segments of power distribution and generation to private corporations—leaving the public sector to bear the losses and social obligations.
Dubey said far from supporting the sector in the public interest, this Bill is designed to pave the way for large-scale privatisation, commercialisation, and centralisation of the Indian power system.
It threatens the financial sustainability of public utilities, the democratic rights of consumers, the federal structure of the Indian State, and the livelihoods of lakhs of power sector workers across the country.
He said the provision of cost reflective tariff and withdrawal of cross subsidy will lead to u affordable tariffs for farmers and domestic consumers.
Earlier also, in 2014, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022, the union power ministry had introduced Electricity (Amendment) Bills, but due to provisions that were anti-employee, anti farmer and anti-consumer, these bills could not be passed owing to strong opposition from stakeholders, particularly the power dngineers and employees, farmers, consumer forums and number of state governments, Dubey claimed.
He lamented once again, the Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025 that has been brought forward is exactly the same as the five previous draft bills.
All its provisions have been framed to completely privatize the entire power sector, which is neither in the interest of farmers and consumers nor in the interest of employees.
AIPEF maintained that no benefit will accrue to the power sector from this Draft Bill.
Hence, the Federation demands that the Draft Bill 2025 be withdrawn immediately and dialogue be held with the main stakeholders – power engineers and employees — for genuine reforms.
AIPEF said the explanatory note presented by the government along with this proposed amendment reveals a striking confession — the government admits that, after 22 years of the enactment of the Electricity Act, 2003, and despite major structural reforms under the Act, the distribution segment continues to face severe financial stress, with cumulative losses increasing from Rs 26,000 crore to Rs 6.9 trillion over the last 22 years.