Federation opposes Tata Power plan for parallel power distribution in MESCOM areas

The Federation of Karnataka Electricity Board Employees’ Union and Associations on Monday opposed Tata Power Company Limited’s (TPCL) application to the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) for a parallel power distribution licence in areas currently served by State-run power utilities, including Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (MESCOM).

The Federation, which submitted a memorandum to Puttur MLA Ashok Kumar Rai, sought his intervention to prevent what it called the “privatisation of the power sector” in the State.

The federation urged in the memorandum that the State government can direct KERC to reject the application under Section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003. The Section empowers State governments to issue written policy directives to state electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs) on matters involving public interest.

It said the business plan submitted by TPCL indicates that its focus will be on the distribution of power in urban areas to industrial and commercial consumers. This, it said, will leave rural consumers at a disadvantage.

The Federation said private companies usually “cherry-pick” consumers to earn profit, adding that it will force MESCOM to serve other consumers and affect its finances.

The memorandum said that when private companies outsource their human resource staff, the employees will have no job security. Elected representatives, it said, will not have the same hold over private companies as they do over entities under the government.

The federation claimed that MESCOM serves people with a “service motive”.

It said companies seeking a parallel power distribution licence will have to use their own infrastructure and power distribution network under the Electricity Act, 2003. However, TPCL has said it will use the MESCOM network, it added. The infrastructure of ESCOMs is public property, developed over the years, and should not be handed over to any private company.