Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL) employees are opposing the proposed transfer of some high-voltage transmission lines and substations to the Himachal Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Limited (HPPTCL).
The HPSEBL employees have urged Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to not approve any such move without consultations with them. They have pointed out that any such transfer of assets will be a violation of the bipartite agreement signed between the state government and the Joint Front of Electricity Employees and Engineers in 2010.
The power board employees claim that as per this agreement, any change in the terms will require consultation with the employees and engineers of the HPSEBL.
The power board employees allege that the plan is underway to transfer some HPSEBL assets to the HPPTCL. They claim that the move will have an adverse effect on their pension and service conditions. “The transfer of these assets will result in the abolition of posts in the HPSEBL, affecting promotion avenues and other service conditions,” they add.
“The electrical lines and substations of 132 kV and above capacity are part of the HPSEBL electrical system and the benefits from these assets are passed to consumers in the form of low electricity tariffs,” the employees claimed.
They point out that the social security of the HPSEBL employees and pensioners are embedded in the present assets, which cannot be transferred without taking care of these liabilities.
The other concern the power board employees have raised is that the transfer of assets to the HPPTCL will result in the HPSEBL having to pay huge wheeling charges on its own lines to the former, leading to an additional burden on the consumers.
“The HPSEBL currently claims just Rs 326 crore on tariff pass-through against 85 per cent energy being wheeled on its own EHV system, whereas the HPSEBL is paying Rs 201 crore against 15 per cent energy being wheeled through the HPPTCL system,” the employees say.
They claimed that the HPPTCL has failed to carry out mandatory tasks due to the lack of an organisational structure, resulting in additional costs to the state. The employees have urged the Chief Minister to direct the HPPTCL management to focus on its own projects.
