Power employees JAC seeks sorting out of critical issues to save utilities from deeper crisis

The Andhra Pradesh State Power Employees Joint Action Committee (APSPE-JAC) wrote a letter to Energy Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy seeking urgent resolution of certain critical issues to pull the utilities out of the crisis in which they are mired.

JAC chairman P. Chandra Sekhar, secretary general M. Veda Vyasa Rao and convener B. Sai Krishna said the government should operationalize all the units of Rayalaseema Thermal Power Plant and Dr. Tatarao Thermal Power Station and oppose Central government’s attempts to privatize / franchise States’ transmission and distribution companies through the Electricity Amendment Bill, 2020.

The other things which JAC wanted the government to do are to establish the proposed 10,000-MW solar project in the public sector (through AP-Genco / AP Green Energy Corporation) but not as a BOT model, sort out the matter of EPF, GPF and pension facility for the employees recruited between February 1, 1999 and August 31, 2004, regularisation of outsourced / contract employees in all utilities, consideration of pending compassionate cases of under / over aged dependents of deceased / medically invalidated employees, and providing unlimited medical policy for the employees and dependents.

While flagging the issues to be resolved, the JAC office – bearers thanked Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and the Energy Minister for allocating ₹18,000 crore to the power sector and stated that it was the employees’ endeavour to improve efficiencies.

In the same vein, they expressed concern about the showing of AP-Genco’s thermal plants as liabilities and the tariffs not being in line with the costs – to – serve, and sought an audience with the CM to personally apprise him of the measures required to bail the utilities out of crises.

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