PSIREN

  The PSI Subregional Trade Union Forum on ADB Energy Policy and Projects (Nov 20-21, 2010) aims to provide a forum for PSI electricity unions to exchange information about their campaigns related to ADB/IFI-supported power sector reforms and initiate a subregional campaign platform.  A total of 21 participants (4F, 17M) attended the workshop.

Contains: PSI’s position on public sector reforms (New Public Management; Privatisation, PPP, PFIs; Outsourcing or contracting out; Cost-cutting budget constraints; Performance pay and performance management); Other modes of PSR (Decentralization; Separation of Policymaking and Service Delivery; Emergence of e-government; Job losses, austerity measures due to global economic crisis); World Bank review of PSR; Reasserting the public in public services;  ADB-supported PSR in power, water, health, education sectors; Union actions in PSR

ADB report shows the impacts of ADB's assistance to the state of Madhya Pradesh since 1999 in fiscal consolidation and sectoral reform programs and investments in energy, urban infrastructure (e.g., Madhya Pradesh Urban Water Supply and Environmental Improvement Project, Indore Water Supply Project), and transportation.
Impacts of MP power sector reforms include reported achievements in:
 -       restructuring of the vertically integrated MPSEB into six successor companies

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is a part of the World Bank Group which invests money in projects involving private companies. It openly promotes privatisation in many sectors. Recent activity invcludes:

West Seti Hydroelectric Project (WSHP) involves the construction and operation of 750-MW hydroelectric power plant on Seti river in far western region of Nepal on BOOT basis for 30 years. Project sponsor is Australian-based Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC); West Seti Hydro Limited (WSHL) is 100% subsidiary of SMEC. Construction will be by China Machinery & Equipment Import and Export Corporation under lump sum price turnkey contract signed in April 2005; construction period is for 5 years.

Northern Electricity Workers Decry Treatment of Consumers
20 June 2010
Electricity workers in the North have decried what they call the lopsided development of the power sector in the country at the expense of northern consumers.
They also spoke against the privatization of electricity in the country saying that the unit price would be too high for consumers when privatized.

Morales Nationalizes Bolivian Electricity
Callan Hetterich, 03 May 2010
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18739:morales-nationalizes-bolivian-electricity&catid=48:other&Itemid=122
 

The regional trends

Indian electricity workers demonstrate for tripartite agreement and against unfair dismissals
PSI-AP News (Aug 2008)
http://www.world-psi.org/Content/ContentGroups/English7/Publications1/Asia_Pacific_News/AP_News_August_2008.pdf
 

Pakistan WAPDA Hydro Electricity Central Labour Union (PWHECLU) has reached a settlement agreement through their collective bargaining to up-grade the pay scale for Electricity Meter Readers from BPS-5 to BPS -7 and include a generation allowance for the generation staff employed in Hydel and Thermal Power Station. Khurshid Ahmed, PWHECLU General Secretary said that the union is confident that an agreement will be reached through concerted struggle. He also said that earlier mutual negotiation and consultation has been made between the union and the management for the contract workers.

Rurelec is a plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, a private power  and its business is all focussed on Bolivia and Argentina, but hoping to expand into Chile and Peru. Rurelec is a good example of a parasite on public finance and aid, using political leverage of the UK, the IFIs, and former right-wing local politicians.

European parliament parliamentary questions 22 February 2010
WRITTEN QUESTION by Willy Meyer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission
Subject: Murder of human rights defenders opposed to Unión Fenosa's activities in Guatemala
In the Department of San Marcos in Guatemala, attacks were carried out on various individuals who were linked to protest organisations opposed to the practices of Deocsa, a subsidiary of Unión Fenosa, the Spanish electricity distribution company.

During the last two decades, fundamental changes have taken place in power sector around world, and many countries have adopted market-oriented reforms to introduce more competition into the sector. However, while the case for restructuring from economic and technical perspectives might be unambiguously strong, the performance of such reform efforts in developing countries has been mixed so far.

Excerpts of Sep 2009 ADB review: The project is a 'Loan and Complementary Financing Scheme' -- On 12 November 2003, the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved (i) a loan of up to $40 million from ADB's ordinary capital resources, (ii) a proposed loan under the ADB's complementary financing scheme (CFS) of up to $100 million in favor of commercial lenders, and (iii) a political risk guarantee (PRG) in favor of commercial lenders to BLCP Power Limited (BLCP) for the BLCP Power Project (Project).