Govt readies reply to Left note on power law

The power ministry will make a presentation to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) tomorrow on the review of the Electricity Act, 2003, less than a week after the Left parties presented their 'note' on it to the government.

The Left's note will be discussed at Monday's meeting to frame the government's response, power ministry sources said.

The Left parties, which handed over the note at the coordination committee meeting with the United Progressive Alliance government on October 12, have charged that "contrary to the Common Minimum Programme, the ministry of power it appears has dismissed all talk of any review of the Act."

The Left note also points out that the unbundling of state electricity boards (SEBs) has proved disastrous in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi.

"Generation, transmission and distribution are closely interconnected activities. The experience of unbundling the SEBs ( with or without privatization) in various states has not resolved the loss-making nature of the SEBs, the note says, and advocates a " single organisational structure" for the activities under public ownership.