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The Federation of Karnataka Electricity Board Employees’ Union and Associations connected Monday opposed Tata Power Company Limited’s (TPCL) exertion to the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) for a parallel powerfulness organisation licence successful areas presently served by State-run powerfulness utilities, including Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (MESCOM).
The Federation, which submitted a memorandum to Puttur MLA Ashok Kumar Rai, sought his involution to forestall what it called the “privatisation of the powerfulness sector” successful the State.
The federation urged successful the memorandum that the State authorities tin nonstop KERC to cull the exertion nether Section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003. The Section empowers State governments to contented written argumentation directives to authorities energy regulatory commissions (SERCs) connected matters involving nationalist interest.
It said the concern program submitted by TPCL indicates that its absorption volition beryllium connected the organisation of powerfulness successful municipality areas to concern and commercialized consumers. This, it said, volition permission agrarian consumers astatine a disadvantage.
The Federation said backstage companies usually “cherry-pick” consumers to gain profit, adding that it volition unit MESCOM to service different consumers and impact its finances.
The memorandum said that erstwhile backstage companies outsource their quality assets staff, the employees volition person nary occupation security. Elected representatives, it said, volition not person the aforesaid clasp implicit backstage companies arsenic they bash implicit entities nether the government.
The federation claimed that MESCOM serves radical with a “service motive”.
It said companies seeking a parallel powerfulness organisation licence volition person to usage their ain infrastructure and powerfulness organisation web nether the Electricity Act, 2003. However, TPCL has said it volition usage the MESCOM network, it added. The infrastructure of ESCOMs is nationalist property, developed implicit the years, and should not beryllium handed implicit to immoderate backstage company.
