Budget proposes to shut thermal power plants of 166,000 mw, says group

National powermen body to stage protests against 'anti-people' proposals

Coal-fired power plants totaling 166,000 megwatt (mw) would shut down if the Union Budget proposals are implemented, said a group representing the sector’s engineers on Saturday.

Nearly 4,000 mw of the thermal power projects pertain to Uttar Pradesh, said the All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF). Thermal power plants totaling 15,000 mw in capacity and located in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Haryana and other states had already been served closure notice, AIPEF chairman Shailendra Dubey told Business Standard.

Terming the energy sector proposals in the Union Budget as ‘anti-people’ and aimed at benefitting big industrial houses, he announced the Federation would