A widespread Gurugram power outage disrupted household water supply, internet access, schooling and office work on October 22 as electricity employees began a three-day strike against the grant of a parallel distribution licence to a private company in Gurugram and Nuh.
Power cuts were reported in several parts of the city from late Wednesday night, coinciding with the strike by employees led by the All India Power Corporation and various power-sector unions. Residents in sectors including 5, 7 and 8, DLF Phase 2 and areas along the Dwarka Expressway reported outages and difficulties reaching officials or registering complaints.
In Sector 7, resident Ashish Sardana told The Indian Express that power to his home went out around 10 pm on Wednesday. By the following morning, his inverter had run out, water supply had stopped and his WiFi connection was unavailable, preventing him from working from home. He said his children, preparing for engineering entrance and government competitive examinations, were also unable to study. A complaint through the discom’s 1912 helpline was disconnected after several minutes, he said.
Residents and local Residents’ Welfare Associations said the electricity disruption quickly affected water distribution because pumps and domestic systems could not operate. T R Adalkha, president of the Sector 5 RWA, said some children had not gone to school because there was no water at home. He added that residents’ inverters had been exhausted after the outage began. Along the Dwarka Expressway, housing societies stocked diesel for generators to prepare for possible prolonged interruptions.
The disruption also affected DLF Phase 2, where residents reported a power cut lasting at least three hours from 6 am. Residents said local representatives and the DLF team attempted to identify and repair the fault. In Sector 7, a local RWA office-bearer said the outage was linked to a fault in the master distribution line from Palam Vihar, while the sub-divisional officer was not responding during the strike.
The strike follows the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission’s decision on October 19 to grant Eleven Power Pvt Ltd a 25-year parallel electricity distribution licence. If the licence takes effect, Eleven Power will become the first private electricity distribution company to enter Haryana, where distribution has so far been handled by the state-owned Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam.
Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Uttam Singh held an emergency meeting with power department officials and directed them to prioritise essential services, including hospitals, drinking-water pumping stations and metro rail networks. Officials were also instructed to resolve local faults quickly and reduce inconvenience to residents. DHBVN issued the toll-free numbers 1912 and 180010804334, along with WhatsApp complaint numbers 8813999708 and 9540954768, for emergencies.
DHBVN Superintending Engineers Shyamveer Saini and Manoj Yadav, responsible for Circle 1 and Circle 2 respectively, and HVPNL Superintending Engineer KK Sarkar were reported to be handling operational complaints in the field.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini appealed to the unions to withdraw the strike and said the state would challenge the HERC order before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity. He directed deputy commissioners to create district-level monitoring committees reporting to a high-level committee led by the Chief Secretary.
Energy Minister Anil Vij said in Chandigarh that Haryana would approach APTEL within five to six days seeking an immediate stay. He said the state could approach the Supreme Court if the appellate tribunal did not provide relief. The strike is scheduled to continue through October 24, according to the report.
