Power sector staff to go on strike on March 10

New Delhi: Power sector engineers' body AIPEF on Friday said that 27 lakh workers associated with it will boycott work on March 10 to protest against a proposed legislation aimed at changing the country's electricity distribution framework.

There is strong resentment among power employees and engineers over the government's plan to table the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025 in Parliament, All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) said in a statement.

The draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025 has provisions for allowing multiple electricity distributors to operate in the same area using shared infrastructure. The bill also provides for cost-reflective tariffs while protecting subsidised consumers and eliminating cross-subsidy for industrial consumers within five years.

According to AIPEF, nearly 2.7 million power employees and engineers across the country will boycott work and come out on the streets on March 10.

The decision was taken in an online meeting of the National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE), which was chaired by Shailendra Dubey, Chairman of the AIPEF.

NCCOEEE has also written to the power ministry, demanding that the "anti-farmer, anti-consumer and anti-employee Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025 should not be introduced in Parliament", AIPEF said.