Even after privatization, the government will have to provide financial assistance worth billions of rupees to private companies for many years.
Press Release of the Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukta Sangharsh Samiti, Uttar Pradesh
Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukta Sangharsh Samiti, Uttar Pradesh
Press Release
1 September 2025
Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukta Sangharsh Samiti, Uttar Pradesh, has called the ongoing privatization process of Purvanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam a collusion between management and private entities. They have demanded that the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ji cancel the privatization decision and make public the Standard Bidding Document 2025, which forms the basis of the privatization, in order to seek the opinions of consumers and electricity employees.
The Sangharsh Samiti stated that the Standard Bidding Document 2025, prepared for enabling privatization, is completely one-sided and biased in favor of private companies. According to information obtained from sources within the Central Ministry of Power, following the Standard Bidding Document 2025 would require the government to supply electricity to private companies at subsidized rates for a minimum of 5 to 7 years under the name of transition support, incurring expenditures running into billions of rupees. This period could be extended until private companies start turning a profit.
The Sangharsh Samiti further said that, in addition, all land will be made available to private companies at extremely low prices. Private companies will be given clean balance sheets, while the government will bear the entire burden of losses and liabilities. Private companies are also being authorized to recover payments for employee retirement benefits through ARR (Aggregate Revenue Requirement) by passing these costs on to consumers via tariffs.
The Sangharsh Samiti emphasized that the Standard Bidding Document 2025 is such that even after privatization, the government will have to pay private companies billions or trillions of rupees annually, bear the full responsibility for losses, and the burden of employees’ terminal benefits will be added to the tariffs paid by ordinary consumers.
The Sangharsh Samiti alleged that some senior management and government officials are in collusion with private entities and intend to impose privatization while keeping the government in the dark, which will increase the financial burden on the government as well as raise tariffs for ordinary consumers.
Central office bearers of the Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukta Sangharsh Samiti, Uttar Pradesh, informed today that the Government of India issued the Standard Bidding Document 2025 for the privatization of electricity distribution companies on May 14, 2025. The Samiti said it has come to light that the Request for Proposal (RFP) document prepared by the Power Corporation for privatizing Purvanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam is based on the Standard Bidding Document 2025. Earlier, when the transaction consultant was selected, it was mentioned that the basis for privatization was the Standard Bidding Document 2020.
The Samiti stated that between the selection of the transaction consultant and the preparation of the RFP document, the basis for privatization changed from the Standard Bidding Document 2020 to the Standard Bidding Document 2025. Therefore, the entire privatization process should be immediately canceled, and first, the Standard Bidding Document 2025 should be made public, as it is based on this document that electricity distribution in 42 districts of the state is being handed over to private entities.
Following the Sangharsh Samiti’s call, electricity employees across the state continued widespread protests today for the 278th consecutive day.