LUCKNOW, July 22 -- Consumers, power sector employees and other stakeholders joined hands on Monday to protest against the proposed electricity tariff hike and privatisation efforts during the final public hearing conducted by the UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) at its Lucknow auditorium. The hearing, chaired by UPERC member Arvind Kumar, focused on the tariff proposal submitted by Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Ltd (MVVNL). This was the last in a series of public hearings held for all discoms - Purvanchal, Paschimanchal, Kesco, Agra, and Greater Noida - on their respective tariff petitions for the current fiscal year. Representing consumers, UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad chairman Avadhesh Kumar Verma strongly opposed the proposed hike, terming it "unconstitutional and anti-people". He claimed the discoms were sitting on a surplus of Rs 33,122 crore and demanded a 45% reduction in tariffs or a 9% phased cut over five years. Verma also lashed out at the privatisation of the power sector, warning of legal action against officials, if corruption is established, alleging massive annual power thefts of Rs 1,280 crore in MVVNL alone and Rs 5,000 crore statewide. He raised serious issues around transformer burnouts, poor grievance redressal and malfunctioning of smart meters, referring to them as "scam meters" allegedly embedded with manipulated software and Chinese components. He also urged the commission to introduce a new tariff category for small domestic shopkeepers (up to 1kW/100 units) and to act against builders misusing electricity connections at the expense of consumers. While consumers and bodies representing farmers, industries, etc voiced their anger inside, hundreds of power employees under the banner of Vidyut Karmchari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti staged a silent protest outside, alleging they were denied entry into the hearing. They demanded a fresh public hearing to present their concerns, particularly on privatisation and its impact on service conditions. Union leaders, including Shailendra Dubey, alleged arbitrary transfers without replacements, non-payment of salaries to over 7,000 employees and forced installation of smart meters in staff quarters - violating existing protections for government employees. Announcing a statewide protest on July 22, the samiti said demonstrations will be held across all district headquarters and outside the residence of the state energy minister in Lucknow to protest against the "victimisation of employees and anti-worker policies". The UPERC is scheduled to hold the State Advisory Committee's meeting here on July 25 to discuss the tariff hike proposal with the committee members representing diverse sectors and government departments. The commission is expected to announce the new tariff order in the first week of August....