CHENNAI: The CITU-affiliated Central Organisation of Tamil Nadu Electricity Employees has threatened an indefinite strike in the first week of November against the proposed installation of smart meters across the State, alleging the project would pave the way for privatisation of power distribution.

The organisation has announced a series of protests beginning on Thursday, with demonstrations planned outside 2,852 section offices of the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (TNPDCL) across the state. Protests will subsequently be held outside all executive engineer offices on October 12, 13 and 14 and supervising engineer offices on October 15.

The organisation's general secretary, T Jaisankar, said it would conduct a public outreach campaign from October 22 to 29, after which employees would go on an indefinite strike in the first week of November.

The protests are against a tender issued by TNPDCL on October 7 to install smart meters under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). The tender covers five electricity projects in the Chennai region and 12 other regions, including Kancheepuram, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Vellore, Coimbatore, Erode, Karur, Thanjavur, Tiruchy, Madurai and Tirunelveli.

Jaisankar said the smart meters were proposed to be installed under the TOTEX model, under which the implementing agency would invest and recover the cost over the contract period. He alleged that handing over smart metering-related operations to private agencies would eventually lead to the privatisation of distribution.

The organisation further warned that the project could result in job losses among electricity board employees and affect employment opportunities for youth. It also raised concerns over the impact on reservation and social justice.

Calling the smart meter project a move to hand over the State's electricity distribution system to private players, Jaisankar demanded that TNPDCL immediately withdraw the tender and abandon the project.