Patiala (Punjab): The PSEB Engineers Association, along with the Joint Action Committee, has announced statewide protest meetings across Punjab on February 12, 2026, opposing power sector privatisation and the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025. On the same day, power sector employees in several other states will observe a work boycott as part of a coordinated national agitation.
The decision was announced by Ajaypal Singh Atwal, General Secretary of the PSEB Engineers Association, who said the protests reflect widespread anger and anxiety among power engineers and electricity employees across the country. He said lakhs of employees view the proposed policy changes as a serious threat to the public power sector, which has played a central role in India’s economic and social development.
The All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) has also warned of intensified agitation if the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025 is introduced in Parliament during the ongoing Budget Session. AIPEF leaders said power engineers and electricity employees nationwide would respond with immediate lightning actions, including work stoppages and large-scale street protests.
The Federation maintained that electricity is the backbone of the country’s economy, agriculture, industry and rural livelihoods. It alleged that the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025, along with the National Electricity Policy, 2026, poses a direct challenge to affordable power, public ownership, the federal structure and national energy security.
AIPEF has strongly criticised what it described as an aggressive push towards privatisation by the Union Government. The Federation opposed measures such as multi-licensing in power distribution, mandatory smart metering, public-private partnership and tariff-based competitive bidding models in transmission, outsourcing of core operations and increasing contractualisation of jobs. Referring to the privatisation experience in Chandigarh, AIPEF cautioned against replicating similar models in states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and others.
V.K. Gupta, Media Advisor of AIPEF, said the Federation has urged the government to withdraw the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025, alleging it would lead to higher tariffs, weaken cross-subsidies and allow private companies to focus only on profitable consumers. The Federation has also demanded the withdrawal of the SHANTI Act, 2025, claiming it compromises nuclear safety and accountability, and opposed the National Electricity Policy, 2026, which it alleges promotes privatisation across power generation, transmission and distribution.
