Nationwide Protests Erupt Against UP Power Privatisation Plans

Lucknow: Mass protests erupted across India on Wednesday against the proposed privatisation of electricity distribution in Uttar Pradesh, with thousands of power sector employees, engineers, farmers, and consumer groups joining demonstrations under the banner of the National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE).

The call for protest came in response to plans for privatising Purvanchal and Dakshinanchal distribution zones, widely criticised as a move to favour select private conglomerates. Protesters accused officials within the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation and the administration of colluding with business groups to transfer public electricity assets worth billions at throwaway prices.

The protests spanned multiple districts in UP, where demonstrators denounced the privatisation push as a “byproduct of corruption.” They claimed that misleading data on losses was being used to justify privatising distribution zones that primarily serve impoverished regions such as Bundelkhand and eastern UP, where even access to drinking water remains a challenge.

In Lucknow, hundreds gathered near the Residency and Madhyanchal headquarters, joined by banners from the Samyukt Kisan Morcha. They vowed to participate in the nationwide strike scheduled for July 9. Speakers warned that privatisation would end existing subsidies, pushing tariffs to ₹10–₹12 per unit, a cost unaffordable for most rural consumers.

Critics highlighted flawed power purchase agreements, claiming they forced distribution companies to pay ₹6,761 crore annually to private producers without receiving any electricity. Combined with overpriced purchases from private generators, this adds ₹10,000 crore annually as burden to consumers.

According to protest leaders, ₹14,400 crore in unpaid dues from government departments, and subsidies worth ₹22,000 crore for farmers and low-income users are now being framed as losses to justify privatisation, making it clear that such a move will eliminate all the subsidy without it being a burden on average consumers.

Demonstrators warned that if efforts were made to suppress the movement, all 2.7 million electricity employees across the country would be compelled to take to the streets. They said the policy could push millions of UP’s poor back into the “lantern age.” Protests were also reported in Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Mumbai, Kolkata, Patna, Ranchi, Bhopal, Dehradun, Jammu, Jaipur, and Chennai, showing the pan-India opposition to the privatisation plan.