Employees from the engineering cadre to accounts and field have threatened to stall power generation and distribution even as the talks between CMDs of power utility companies and leaders of the agitating employees’ unions failed on Sunday night. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu would plunge into darkness if the employees go ahead with their plan of agitation.
Employees’ union leaders M. Satyanandam, Venkateswara Rao and others in Vijayawada warned that they were prepared to stall generation of around 3,600 MW and distribution of 9,600 MW, if the government failed to concede their demand for implementation of the 27.5 per cent pay hike as agreed to by the managements earlier.
Employees in different wings of power sector went on a flash strike on Sunday morning raising the spectre of serious power supply disruptions, even as several districts reeled under a heat wave condition.
More than 40 per cent of the 55,000 employees working in six power generation, transmission and distribution companies in Andhra Pradesh are participating in the strike.
They allege that the managements backed out from implementing the pay revision in the last moment saying the decision should be left to the two new State Governments that would come into existence after June 2.
Facing the possibility of power generation coming to a halt because of the strike, Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan called for a review meeting with Chief Secretary P.K. Mohanty and Energy Department officials, including the CMDs of power utilities. He directed the authorities to ensure uninterrupted power supply to all essential services, including water supply, hospitals and railways and to scuttle any attempts of sabotage by the striking staff
Mr. Mohanty who held talks with unions appealed to them to call off the strike at least till June 2, explaining that the new governments would be in the best position to implement pay revision.
Mr. Mohanty told reporters later that the pay revision burden would be to the tune of Rs. 1,250 crore per annum but refused to divulge the extent of burden on each state.
Admitting that there was confusion as for as participation in the strike was concerned, Telangana Electricity Employees’ JAC convenor K. Raghu said that all employees were of the view that the managements had gone back on their word on the implementation of pay revision.
However, most of the Telangana unions were not taking part in strike with a view not to give trouble to the new government in Telangana.
The Energy demand in the State on Saturday ranged between 9,823 MU (million units) and 11,088 MU and the shortage between 250 MU and 700 MU.
