Photo Source: ANI
AIPEF rejects Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025, calls it a step toward total privatisation of power sector
Babushahi Bureau
New Delhi, November 8, 2025: The All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has submitted its comments on the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025, urging the Central Government to withdraw the proposed legislation, which it says is aimed at privatising the entire power sector—a move the Federation warns will be disastrous for farmers and domestic consumers.
AIPEF Chairman Shailendra Dubey stated that the Bill, if implemented, would dismantle the integrated and socially driven public power system built over decades. He cautioned that the most profitable segments of power generation and distribution would be handed over to private companies, leaving the public sector burdened with losses and social obligations.
AIPEF Media Advisor V. K. Gupta added that the PSEB Engineers Association and other state associations have also submitted their objections to the Ministry of Power.
Dubey alleged that instead of strengthening the power sector in the public interest, the Bill promotes large-scale privatization, commercialization, and centralization, threatening the financial stability of state utilities, consumer rights, and the federal structure of India.
He further warned that the proposed cost-reflective tariffs and withdrawal of cross-subsidies would make electricity unaffordable for farmers and households. “The Bill privatizes profits while nationalizing losses,” he said, “undermining public accountability and the social contract of affordable electricity for all.”
The AIPEF’s submission also expressed concern over the proposal to allow multiple distribution licensees in the same area using shared public networks—a move it called a “direct attempt at privatisation.” According to the Federation, private firms will cherry-pick profitable consumers, leaving state-owned DISCOMs to serve rural and low-income areas, pushing them into severe financial distress.
“The Federation firmly believes that this draft Bill will not benefit the power sector,” Dubey said. “We demand that the Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025 be immediately withdrawn and that genuine reforms be undertaken through dialogue with stakeholders, including engineers and employees.”
AIPEF concluded that the Bill represents the “final nail in the coffin” of India’s public power sector if pushed forward without reconsideration.