Employees of power utilities end strike after Fadnavis’s assurances

Strap: Several parts of state face outages up to 8 hours

Employees of three state-owned power companies called off their strike on Wednesday afternoon after deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis assured them that the state government had no plans to privatise the electricity distribution sector. But by then, many districts, including parts of Pune, Nashik and a few areas in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), had faced power outages ranging from 2 to 8 hours.

Nearly 1.25 lakh employees, affiliated to various unions, went on a three-day strike past Tuesday midnight. They alleged that if Adani Group was granted a parallel distribution licence in Navi Mumbai and Thane, where currently Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) is supplying power, this would be the beginning of privatisation in the sector.

“Odisha and Delhi have parallel licences. The electricity Act too has a provision on this. However, it will affect MSEDCL’s revenues. So, we will object to the company’s proposal to get the distribution licence in Navi Mumbai and Thane. We will use all the instruments to protect the interests of MSEDCL,” Fadnavis, who also holds the energy portfolio, told union leaders.

Later, speaking to reporters, the BJP leader said if a meeting had taken place between the government and trade union representatives earlier, the strike wouldn’t have happened.

“There was some communication gap. One private company has applied for a parallel distribution licence in Navi Mumbai and Thane. But the state is not supporting any privatisation move. In fact, we are going to invest about ₹50,000 crore to financially strengthen the state-owned generation, transmission, and distribution company,’’ he said, adding hydro power generation sites would be developed in the coming years.

Krishna Bhoir of Maharashtra Rajya Karmachari, Adhikari and Abhiyanta Sangharsh Samiti said timely intervention of Fadnavis was fruitful.

“He assured us that there would be no privatisation of state-owned power companies and the government would give priority to contract laborers in the recruitment drive. His approach was positive and we are satisfied with his assurances. Hence, we are ending the strike,’’ he said.

Mahagenco, another state-owned utility, was supposed to supply 6,200 MW power to MSEDCL on Wednesday. But due to the strike, it could generate about 5,500 MW. As a result, MSEDCL had to buy 700 MW from the market, energy department officials told.

Thousands of households, shops and commercial establishments in some rural areas felt the impact of strike.

In MMR, Badlapur and Panvel saw outages for about 2 to 4 hours. Sinhagad road and Manikbaug in Pune city reported a power cut from 3 am. About 1,000 small-scale industries in Bhosari MIDC and parts of Katraj and Wakad faced outages up to 6 hours. Supply was disrupted for 5-6 hours in several areas of Nashik city like Gangapur road, Makhmalabad and parts of CIDCO. Some CNG pumps were even forced to shut down. Besides, the outskirts of Nagpur, Chandrapur, and Bhandara district and parts of Aurangabad, Parbhani, Latur and Osmanabad experienced blackouts.