Kerala’s Electricity Minister, K. Krishnankutty, has strongly criticized the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025, arguing that its provisions threaten to dismantle public-sector power distribution and accelerate the privatization of India’s vital electricity sector.
Minister Krishnankutty reaffirmed the State government’s unwavering dedication to maintaining power distribution under public control. He warned that an initial review of the bill indicates significant harm to state-owned companies and could inevitably lead to higher electricity bills for consumers.
With the Union government soliciting feedback from state administrations, Mr. Krishnankutty announced that Kerala would formally submit its detailed objections to the Centre after a thorough examination of the contentious proposals.
According to the Minister, a primary objective of the Bill is to grant open access to private entities for electricity distribution licenses. This move, he explained, would enable private corporations to capitalize on and profit immensely from infrastructure that was built and maintained using public taxpayer funds.
Furthermore, he cautioned that this legislative change would likely encourage private distributors to “cherry-pick” affluent consumers, leaving public utility companies burdened with the less profitable, yet crucial, task of supplying affordable electricity to the general population. This skewed competition, he fears, would ultimately drive state-owned enterprises into financial ruin.
Mr. Krishnankutty also highlighted a unanimous resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly on August 5, 2021, which specifically called for the withdrawal of the earlier Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021. The Assembly had then deemed its proposals to be in violation of federal principles. The Minister concluded by asserting that the State government’s position on this matter remains unchanged and resolute.