category Regional,, tags Regional,, DW BUREAU The All-India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has decided to extend support to the National Co-ordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE) through massive demonstration and protest meetings on February 16 at all power utilities headquarters and projects to press against anti-people measures and policies of the government. The NCCOEEE meeting was held on February 5 under the chairmanship of Mohan Rao. Shailendra Dubey, Chairman, Rathnakar Rao, Secretary General, and Ashok Rao, Patron, attended the meeting on behalf of AIPEF. Dubey said that the meeting noted with concern that demands of scrapping the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022 have not been adhered to even after the written commitment of the government to Samyukta Kisan Morcha. On the contrary, prepaid smart meters are unlawfully installed in the consumers premises towards curbing the rights of universal access to electricity. Tariff based competitive bidding has been prescribed for installation of transmission substations as further steps towards privatisation of the power sector. VK Gupta, Spokesperson of the AIPEF, informed that the Ministry of Power, is continuing with its privatization agenda of Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022 through the Electricity (Amendment) Rules. The Ministry has been issuing notifications called the Electricity (Amendment) Rules for the last more than one year. This exercise is being done in the name of exercise of powers conferred by section 176 of the Electricity Act 2003. The NCCOEEEE meeting noted with grave concern that in total refutation of all democratic forms of peoples protest and resistance struggle, the Union government is going ahead to sell off national assets to private hands in the name of NMPL. This will lead to a deep crisis in the national economy and more hardship for the people through immediate and future days to come. (editor dailyworld.in)