CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) has decided not to proceed further with the parallel power distribution licence granted to Eleven Power Private Limited (EPPL) for Gurugram and Nuh, following the state government’s direction that no such licence be operationalised anywhere in Haryana.
In an order issued on Tuesday, a bench comprising officiating chairman Mukesh Garg and member Shiv Kumar said it would not proceed with HERC Petition No. 30 of 2026 as long as the government’s directions remained in force.
Rejecting EPPL’s plea for a hearing, HERC said Section 108(1) of the Electricity Act, 2003, required it to follow written government directions on policy matters. Under Section 108(2), the government’s decision on whether a matter involved public-interest policy was final. As the directions applied across the state, no “adjudicatory exercise” remained for the commission, it said.
Shailendra Dubey, chairman of the All India Power Engineers Federation, welcomed the order, calling it a historic victory for the power sector. “Determination and an uncompromising struggle have prevailed,” he added.
On October 26, the state Energy Department wrote to HERC under Section 108(1) of the Electricity Act, 2003, directing it not to create, operationalise or effectuate a parallel distribution licence anywhere in the state. The government cited revenue implications, consumer interest and public interest, and said the directions had the Chief Minister’s approval.
The government said it was “gravely concerned” about the impact on consumers and described the licence grant as “in complete deviation of the present policy”. It also cited agitation and apprehension among the public, farmers, consumers and employees of state utilities, while stating that it was not examining the correctness of the commission’s October 19 order.
On October 19, HERC had granted EPPL a parallel distribution licence under Section 14 of the Act for Gurugram and Nuh, where Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (DHBVNL) is the existing distribution licensee.
The state discoms had opposed the licence, citing concerns over capital adequacy, creditworthiness, technical capability and universal service obligations. They had also warned of the selective acquisition of high-revenue consumers, an impact on cross-subsidy, stranded costs and duplication of infrastructure.
Power department employees called off their strike last Friday evening after the state government agreed to invoke Section 108 of the Act and assured them that HERC would be directed to revoke the licence granted to the private company.
The two-day strike disrupted power supply operations across Haryana. Official data showed that consumers had lodged 35,846 power outage complaints by 8 pm last Friday. The number fell to 377 by 8 pm on Saturday following the restoration of power across the state.
