Power Min questions Bengal CM’s intention on opposing amendment

Union Power Minister RK Singh on Monday questioned why West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wanted to protect monopolies in power distribution when asked about her opposition to the Electricity Amendment Bill, 2021, which is set to delicense power distribution.

Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, protesting the introduction of the Bill in the current Parliament session without wider consultation with states, and calling the Bill “anti-people”.

“Why she wants to protect monopolies is not clear, especially the private company in Kolkata which has one of the highest tariffs in the country,” Singh said. He said the Bill will end government and private monopolies.

Data from the Power Ministry showed that representative tariffs for domestic consumers in Kolkata are the fifth highest, and tariffs for medium sized industrial consumers in Kolkata are the sixth highest in the country and the third highest for West Bengal consumers outside Kolkata.

“There must be competition in this sector so that people can choose a discom which gives more efficient service at lower prices,” said Singh, adding consumers right now have to bear with discoms even if they are inefficient.