Private franchisee for power distribution

Engineers seek CM’s intervention
Manish Sirhindi
Tribune News Service
Panipat, December 10
Not letting the government has its way in introducing the private franchisee for the distribution systems in Panipat and Gurgaon, the All-India Power Engineers Federation has again opposed the proposed move.
In a letter to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the association has sought his immediate intervention in stalling the move which the engineers believe would be detrimental to the financial state of the power utilities.
Shaliender Dubey, secretary general of the federation, said bringing in private players to manage the distribution systems in Panipat and Gurgaon would trim down the revenue collection of the power utilities, which were already facing financial crunch.
Spokesperson for the federation VK Gupta said Gurgaon’s monthly contributions were Rs 214 crore, which was almost half of the total monthly income of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) that is around Rs 450 crore.
Panipat contributes Rs 35 crore per month to a total revenue of Rs 315 crore received by the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN).
He said the revenue data had made it clear that handing over these two circles to private companies would have serious implications.
Gupta said the rationale behind introducing the franchisee system in the two circles was beyond comprehension as revenue collection here was 100 per cent and the line losses were minimal.
Dubey alleged that the move aimed at privatising the power utilities for vested interests.