HYDERABAD: The All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has requested MPs to oppose the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020, in both Houses of the Parliament. As the Parliament session will commence on Monday, AIPEF Chairman Shailendra Dubey wrote letters to all MPs and Chief Ministers of all States, with a request to oppose the Electricity (Amendment) Bill. In his letter, Dubey asked the MPs to stress that they have serious reservations and objections to the Bill. MPs should also stress that the objections already raised by States against the Bill had not been addressed in the Draft Bill. 

The MPs should demand that the Bill be referred to the Standing Committee on Energy, as in case of the earlier Bill of 2014, which was referred to the Committee by the 16th Lok Sabha, stated the letter.Dubey wrote in the letter that the Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was still not clear. While on one hand, the Central government intended to introduce the Bill in the upcoming Monsoon session of the Parliament, the recent interview and press statement of the Minister for Power indicates that several key issues such as DBT were still under discussion and yet to be finalised. 

The Minister also admitted that the DBT structure was still not perfect and the Centre was ready to wait for five years. The Ministry of Power circulated minutes of a meeting of Power Ministers held in July, 2020, where it was stated that in view of the comments received, some proposals with regard to a single selection committee for the Electricity Regulatory Commissions and DBT were proposed to be modified. 

“In view of this development, all MPs may request the Power Ministry to circulate a copy of the Draft Bill with amendments included, and further to ensure that before introducing it in Parliament, the Draft Bill be referred to the standing committee on Energy and discussed, so as to ensure that there are detailed consultations with all concerned,” Shailendra Dubey told MPs in the letter. The Telangana government has been opposing the Electricity (Amendment) Bill keeping in mind its possible adverse impact on farmers and consumers from economically weaker sections of the society.