Stories
Drop Smart Meter Scheme As It Leads To Privatization Demands CPM Shanmugam
- •CPM State Secretary Shanmugam has strongly condemned the tender notification for smart meters, calling it a step toward privatizing the Electricity Board.
- •He stated that the Union BJP government is pressuring state governments to install smart meters even though the Electricity Amendment Bill has not yet been passed.
- •Shanmugam warned that the scheme would jeopardize existing welfare measures such as free electricity for agriculture and micro-industries.
- •The party urged the Tamil Nadu government to immediately drop the smart meter initiative and avoid yielding to neo-liberal economic pressures.
Key Questions Answered
The CPM State Secretary Shanmugam condemned the tender notification, stating that the smart meter scheme is part of a plan to completely hand over the Electricity Board to private entities, which will severely impact state rights, social justice, and public welfare measures like free electricity.
While Kerala's Left Democratic Front government initiated smart meter installation through a government enterprise using its own capital expenditure (Capex model), Tamil Nadu has invited tenders from private parties using the Totex model, signaling a clear move towards privatization.
Privatization could jeopardize social welfare subsidies such as free electricity for agriculture and households, eliminate government control over tariffs, and lead to commercial peak-hour tariffs being imposed on ordinary residential households.
