DW BUREAU / PATIALA State-level conventions were held on Thursday in different states by power sector engineers and employees to protest against the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021 and the indifferent attitude of the central government towards them. In Varanasi, UP power employees held a convention in the Prime Minister's constituency in Varanasi and submitted a memorandum in his office. The conventions were also held in Bengaluru, Trichi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, and other state utility headquarters. V K Gupta, a spokesperson of the All-India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF), said that a four-member delegation of the National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE) led by Prashanta Chaudhary convener met Alok Kumar , Secretary (Power), on Tuesday and handed over a memorandum against the Electricity (Amendment ) Bill 2021. The delegation asked the Power Secretary why the employees and consumers are not being treated as stakeholders and the government is moving unilaterally without discussion with them. The Power Secretary claimed that the concerns of organizations have been considered already and the government does not want to proceed further through consultations and talks. This has left power sector engineers and employees with no choice other than to vehemently oppose their endeavors to privatize the electricity distribution. V K Gupta said that now it is Parliament's responsibility to carefully deliberate the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021 whenever presented before it and a detailed scrutiny process by the Standing Committee on energy should be allowed. The bill passed in a hurry may fail to achieve its intended outcomes. The proposed reform is counterproductive and would lead to denial of electricity to the underprivileged and increase in tariff for domestic and agriculture consumers, benefitting only a few privileged sections of society. The Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021 seeks to de-license power distribution to reduce entry barriers for private players in the name of creating competition. In Mumbai two private companies Adani and Tata supply power to the city. Both companies have their own generating stations and still the tariff in Mumbai is one of the highest in the country. The study carried out by Prayas (energy) group Pune shows that the results of operationalization of parallel licensing in Mumbai has been contrary to the expectation, as it has taken place with a series of unnecessary litigations, skyrocketing expenses, steep consumer tariffs, and regulatory failure.This exposes how competition has failed in Mumbai and how consumers have suffered. (editor@dailyworld.in)