Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, harmful to public sector power utilities, says Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty

The draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which the Centre has now shared with the States for their feedback, is harmful to the public sector power utilities in the country, Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty has said.

The Minister was addressing ‘Vision 2031: Powerful Keralam’ conclave organised at Malampuzha on Friday. He said that Kerala intends to elevate the State-run Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to international standards by keeping its power sector in the public sector.

The State has strong objections to the amendments proposed in the Bill that would promote privatisation and lead to tariff hikes, Mr. Krishnankutty said.

Opening up power distribution to private players would lead to a situation where they ‘cherry-pick’ high-end consumers, eventually plunging public sector distribution companies to losses, Mr. Krishnankutty said. Stopping the cross-subsidy mechanism will render electricity inaccessible to the weaker sections and farmers, he said.

Mr. Krishnankutty also slammed the Bill’s proposal for the creation of an Electricity Council at the national level, stating that it would impinge on the rights of the States with respect to electricity.