The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission has stopped further proceedings on Eleven Power Private Ltd’s proposed 25-year parallel electricity distribution licence for Gurugram and Nuh, after the Haryana government directed that no such licence should be created or operationalised anywhere in the state.
Eleven Power, led by Medanta co-founder Sunil Sachdeva, said it would pursue the legal remedies available to it. The company had accepted the licence and its terms after HERC allowed the grant on October 19, but the process was halted following a written directive issued by the state government under Section 108(1) of the Electricity Act.
HERC had directed Eleven Power to convey its willingness to accept the licence within one week. The company communicated its acceptance to the regulator on October 21 and informed HERC on October 23 that it was taking steps towards implementation. It also asked the Commission for advance notice and an opportunity to be heard in any proceedings or applications concerning approval of the licence.
On October 26, the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Haryana directed HERC not to create or operationalise any parallel distribution licence in the state. The directive followed protests by employees of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam, the state-run distribution company that currently serves the area.
In an order issued on October 28, HERC rejected Eleven Power’s request for advance intimation and a hearing. The Commission cited Sections 108(1) and 108(2) of the Electricity Act. Section 108(1) requires state electricity commissions to be guided by written directions from the state government on policy matters involving public interest. Section 108(2) states that the state government’s decision on whether a question concerns such a policy matter is final.
“The directions dated 26 October have been issued in writing under Section 108(1) and apply generally throughout the State of Haryana. No adjudicatory exercise is left for the Commission to undertake in giving effect to them, and no lis is pending before it in which EPPL’s rights are to be determined afresh,” HERC said in its order.
The order, passed by officiating chairman Mukesh Garg and member Shiv Kumar, said the Commission would not proceed further in the matter for as long as the state government’s directions remained operative. This leaves the proposed licence inactive despite HERC’s earlier decision to approve it and Eleven Power’s subsequent acceptance.
Eleven Power said Gurugram and Nuh deserved reliable electricity supply and consumer choice similar to that available in Mumbai, where parallel distribution has existed for decades. “We hold both the Commission and the State Government in the highest regard, and we will continue to engage with them in the same respectful and constructive manner in which we have engaged throughout. We will pursue the remedies available to us under law,” the company said.
The dispute comes as the Union government experiments with parallel electricity distribution licences while progress on power distribution company privatisation remains limited. Applications have also been reported from Tata Power, Adani Electricity and Torrent Power in parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Goa. Andhra Pradesh has given Google a deemed distribution licence for its 1-gigawatt artificial intelligence data centre hub near Visakhapatnam.
For Gurugram and Nuh, the immediate outcome is that DHBVN remains the existing distribution licensee, while the proposed alternative distribution arrangement cannot move forward unless the Haryana government’s directive ceases to operate or is altered through the applicable legal process.
