After transporters, oil workers, it?s the turn of the power sector. Even as the oil companies officers? called off their strike late Friday, NTPC executives who had expressed solidarity with their demand for higher wages, are set to go on a one-day strike on February 17. And if their demands aren?t met, NTPC workers intend to go for an indefinite strike from February 25, threatening to put most of the country in the dark.

Claiming moral support from their counterparts in state electricity boards across the country, NTPC Executive Federation of India said its 11,000 member executives on Friday started nationwide dharana at all 30 units of NTPC projects, stations and offices.

Meanwhile, the power engineers across the country have informed power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde that said the Centre should not expect them to run the NTPC plants if NTPC executives go on strike. Shailendra Dubey, secretary general, All India Power Engineers Federation told FE that the federation has asked Shinde to intervene and agree to their genuine demands as well as that of NTPC executives.

NTPC officials said the company executives going on strike would mean a daily revenue loss of Rs 100 crore to the company, daily profit erosion of Rs 35 crore and a loss of 30,000 megawatts daily. On Friday, however, NTPC stock closed at 178.1, up 6.9 points (or 4.03%).

Agitating against the committee of secretaries scrapping the Justice M J Rao Committee report, which recommended a pay revision, NTPC Executive Federation of India President Rakesh Pandey told FE ?the government should agree to our demand of comparable salaries with our competitors in the private sector.?

?We have completely backing the strike called by the Oil Sector Officers Association and are evaluating all options. We are also demanding that our board should have more autonomy. Now only the chairman and director, both from the IAS and are government appointees, are enjoying higher salary and perks from the taxpayers money,? he said.

In case NEFI is not able to join the ongoing strike with OSOA, it will go ahead with its action plan of token strike on February 17 and indefinite strike from February 25, Pandey said.

The oil sector officers? strike has hit the gas supply to six out seven state-run NTPC plants which use two fuels (gas and naphtha). They are now running on naphtha, with less than three days? stock.

NTPC has seven dual-fuel power stations at Dadri (817mw), Auraiya (652mw) Gandhar (648mw), Kawas (645mw), Faridabad (430mw), Anta (413mw) and Kayamkulam (350mw), having a total installed capacity of 3,955mw. The estimated gas requirement to operate these plants at a 90% plant load factor is around 17.35 MMSCMD. NTPC has a long-term agreement with Gas Authority of India for 12.93 MMSCMD of gas under the administered price mechanism category. The oil strike has already forced stopping of natural gas supply to industries on the country?s main trunk pipeline.

NTPC CMD R S Sharma denied any possibility of NTPC executives going on strike saying the talks with the executives were still open and the issues were being discussed.