Nationwide Protests Planned as Electricity Employees Fight Back Against Government Policies
In a major escalation against the privatisation of India’s electricity sector, as many as 27 lakh power sector workers and engineers have announced a nationwide strike on June 26, 2025, which is being termed the biggest-ever sectoral strike in recent decades. Additionally, these workers will participate in a nationwide general strike in May alongside central trade unions, opposing the government’s implementation of the four labour codes.
The decisions were made at the National Convention of Electricity Employees and Engineers, held on February 23, 2025, in Nagpur, Maharashtra, under the banner of the Electricity Employees Federation of India (EEFI). The convention condemned what it called a “multi-pronged attack” on the public electricity sector, energy security, and the democratic rights of electricity employees and consumers—particularly in Uttar Pradesh.
Growing Resistance Against Privatisation
The EEFI accused the newly re-elected NDA government of pushing aggressive privatisation policies, citing the controversial sale of the Chandigarh Power Utility despite its profitability and efficiency. It also highlighted ongoing privatisation efforts in Uttar Pradesh, where Purvanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Ltd. (PVVNL) and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Ltd. (DVVNL) are under threat, putting 27,000 employees and engineers, along with 50,000 contract workers, at risk.
EEFI praised the ongoing 87-day struggle of UP electricity workers against privatisation, despite alleged government repression. The federation also slammed Rajasthan’s decision to privatise power generation and battery storage projects and the Telangana government’s move to hand over electricity distribution in South Hyderabad Circle to the Adani Group.
A February 20 regional meeting in Delhi, attended by representatives from Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, revealed that many states are seeking central support for electricity sector privatisation. The Power Ministry’s press release noted that listing state utilities for investment was being discussed, raising concerns over corporate takeovers of public electricity infrastructure.
Final Assault on Public Electricity
EEFI warned that the Centre’s push for the Electricity Amendment Bill—currently being drafted—could mark the final assault on India’s public electricity distribution sector. It argued that such privatisation efforts would result in massive de-electrification and pose a threat to India’s food security and federal structure.
To accelerate its privatisation agenda, the government has formed a Group of Ministers led by UP’s Energy Minister, who the EEFI accused of having a pro-privatisation track record.
Mass Mobilisation and Support for the Strike
The June 26 strike has already received solidarity from central trade unions and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which has long opposed the Electricity Amendment Bill. In preparation, EEFI has planned:
• Regional meetings and state-level mass conventions
• Four massive rallies in Uttar Pradesh in March 2025 to resist the government’s privatisation push
EEFI has called upon electricity sector employees, engineers, and consumers to unite against the privatisation drive and ensure the strike’s success.
