‘Privatise power discoms or lose aid’: Centre told 6 states including UP: AIPEF

The All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has claimed that the central government has asked six states, including Uttar Pradesh, to adopt privatisation measures for their power distribution companies or forgo central government assistance. The directive was reportedly issued during a meeting of the Group of Ministers held on October 10.

AIPEF chairman Shailendra Dubey said the meeting, attended by energy ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, offered three choices, selling 51% equity of discoms to private firms with the government bearing the debt, handing over management to private players for five years with grants, or listing the discoms on the stock exchange with at least an ‘A’ rating to qualify for financial aid from the Centre.