AIPEF demands review
of power reforms in state

Rajinder Kaur
Ropar

All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has demanded the review of reform process in the power sector as it has failed to yield desired results. AIPEF Secretary General Shaliendra Dubey said that the policy of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation in the power sector has completely failed. It was high time to review without any bias whether the reforms in power sector are progressing in right direction or not, he said. Dubey said that after unbundling of most of the state electricity boards of country, power shortages, load shedding, poor quality power supply and soaring transmission and distribution losses continued to haunt the power sector.

“Most power utilities in the country are facing survival crisis due to huge debts. The power utilities were not given clean slate after unbundling of state electricity boards. The utilities are living on borrowed money to run the show. Even now banks have refused to extend loan to some of these utilities,” he said. AIPEF chairman Padamjit Singh said states like Punjab and UP have adopted MoU route to allow setting up of new thermal projects. ‘’The setting up of projects without bidding process will escalate the generation cost. This increase in generation cost will increase tariff and common consumers shall be the sufferer. States like UP and Punjab have allowed private parties to set up new thermal projects more than 20,000 MW and 5,000 MW.