Chandigarh, Oct 19 Haryana’s Energy Minister Anil Vij on Monday said the state government will appeal against the order granting a parallel electricity distribution licence to a private company for Gurugram and Nuh districts.
“The government will appeal to APTEL (Appellate Tribunal for Electricity) against the order of the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission granting a parallel electricity distribution licence to Eleven Power Private Limited for Gurugram and Nuh,” Vij said in a post on X in Hindi.
The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC), in an order dated October 19, granted the company a 25-year licence covering both revenue districts under Section 14 of the Electricity Act, 2003, Eleven Power said in a statement.
Eleven Power plans to invest Rs 4,717 crore in the distribution network over five years, with electricity supply expected to begin in 2027-28.
The licence allows Eleven Power to operate alongside the existing distributor, rather than replacing it. Consumers will not need to take any immediate action, and the existing utility will continue supplying its customers. The option to switch will become available as Eleven Power’s network reaches their areas.
In August, Vij said the state government opposed the proposal to grant a parallel electricity distribution licence in Gurugram and Nuh to private power companies.
Vij then stated that the application for a parallel electricity distribution licence was submitted directly to HERC, an autonomous body, and not through the Energy Department.
When the commission sought the state government’s response on the matter of parallel electricity distribution licence, Vij said he opposed the proposal on every point.
At present, the state-owned power distribution company, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), serves electricity consumers in the two districts.
Meanwhile, opposition party Indian National Lok Dal’s patron and former Minister Sampat Singh said the decision to grant a parallel electricity distribution licence to Eleven Power for Gurugram and Nuh is not a routine regulatory order.
“It is a grave and irreversible assault on Haryana’s public power sector, on the interests of farmers, rural consumers and the poor, and on the very principle that essential services must serve people before profit,” Singh said in a statement.
“For the first time in Haryana, two distribution agencies have been permitted to operate in the same territory. Hitherto, electricity distribution in any area has been undertaken either by a State public-sector utility or by a private licensee, not by two parallel agencies competing within the same supply area,” he said.
He alleged that the state government’s conduct makes it abundantly clear that the decision is not merely that of an independent regulator.
Gurugram contributes a disproportionately high share of DHBVNL’s revenue and has among the lowest distribution losses, Singh said.
(PTI News)
