Nationwide Protest by 2.7 Million Power Workers Against Uttar Pradesh Electricity Privatization
Hyderabad, May 29, 2025: In a powerful show of solidarity, approximately 2.7 million electricity workers across India staged protests against the proposed privatization of electricity distribution companies in Uttar Pradesh. Under the banner of the National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees and Engineers (NCCOEEE), the Telangana State Power Employees Joint Action Committee (TGPEJAC) organized a demonstration in front of the TGSPDCL corporate office in Hyderabad, joining the nationwide movement.
TGPEJAC Chairman Saibaba expressed unwavering support for Uttar Pradesh power workers, who have been protesting for the past 184 days against the state’s privatization plans. He criticized the UP government for attempting to amend service regulations to facilitate employee dismissals, calling it an unacceptable tactic. Saibaba revealed that the NCCOEEE resolved to hold lunch-hour demonstrations across the country to oppose these moves.
Convener Ratnakar Rao emphasized that power workers nationwide participated in the protests, standing in solidarity with their UP counterparts. He warned that if the UP government continues to intimidate employees through service regulation changes and dismissals, power workers across India will mount a strong resistance. “For the past six months, UP workers have protested democratically, yet the government is resorting to coercive measures,” Rao stated.
JAC leaders BC Reddy, Karunakar Reddy, Govardhan, Moses, and Srinivas reiterated their commitment to halting privatization efforts, vowing to escalate the agitation if necessary. “We will go to any extent to stop the privatization of power utilities and will not back down from this fight,” they asserted.
The protests, held during lunch hours, saw 2.7 million power workers across all districts and projects in India expressing solidarity with UP’s electricity employees. The workers warned that any further harassment of UP power employees would lead to nationwide street protests, holding the UP government solely responsible for the consequences.
Demonstrations took place in major cities including Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayawada, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Nagpur, Raipur, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Vadodara, Rajkot, Guwahati, Shillong, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Ranchi, Srinagar, Jammu, Shimla, Dehradun, Patiala, Jaipur, Kota, Hisar, and Lucknow. In Telangana, protests were held in Hyderabad, Warangal, and all generating stations.
The event in Hyderabad saw participation from leaders including BC Reddy, Sadanandam, Bhupal Reddy, Tajuddin, Varaprasad, Venu, Srinivas Reddy, Gopal Rao, Vidyasagar, Kiran, Buchayya, Venkatesh, Prashant, Anil, Kailas, and Kishore, among others.
