The Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd, also known as Varanasi discom (distribution company), is among the country’s discoms identified for privatisation, people aware of the matter said on Thursday.
The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd is believed to be working out assets and liabilities of the discom as on March 31 for its takeover by a private company probably by the year-end.
The Union power ministry has uploaded the draft standard bidding documents for the privatisation of the distribution companies in states. The documents have been issued for encouraging and supporting the acceleration of private sector participation in power distribution utilities across the country, it said while inviting public comments by October 5.
The documents were uploaded on the ministry’s website on September 22 for the states to follow for inviting the technical and financial bids, the terms and conditions for participants, the timelines, etc.
The discom employees protesting against the privatisation have been assured that service conditions will not be inferior in any manner after private firms take over.
UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad president Avadhesh Kumar Verma said the uploading of bidding documents on the ministry’s website is the first written document in the public domain, vindicating their fears about the government plans on privatisation of power distribution.
