CM Nayab Saini says Haryana power employees' strike being called off: ‘There will be no privatisation of any kind’

HERC’s order allowed Eleven Power Private Limited to enter electricity distribution in Gurugram and Nuh for 25 years. Distribution means supplying electricity to consumers through the local network. The licence was described as parallel because the private company would operate alongside the state-owned distribution companies, or discoms.

This was not a licence to replace the existing discoms immediately. It would let Eleven Power distribute power in the same areas where state-owned utilities already operated. The arrangement therefore created a second distribution operator for those locations. HERC issued the order on October 19.

The order triggered a three-day strike by electricity employees and engineers. The union opposed the licence because it feared effects on jobs, state-owned utilities and affordable electricity. After the strike, the Haryana government used Section 108 to direct HERC to review the decision and seek to cancel the provision permitting private distribution.

The strike was large and short. Around 40,000 electricity employees and engineers joined the protest, showing the strength of opposition within Haryana’s power workforce. Their central concern was HERC’s decision to permit private electricity distribution in Gurugram and Nuh.

The three-day strike began on October 22. Workers objected to the 25-year parallel licence granted to Eleven Power Private Limited. The union linked private distribution to possible risks for jobs, state-owned power utilities and consumer electricity costs. The protest was therefore about both employment and the future structure of electricity supply.

The strike ended after the state government assured the union of its support and directed HERC to review its order. Union representatives announced that workers would immediately return to duty. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini also repeated that the government opposed privatisation of electricity distribution.

Section 108 gives a state government a formal way to issue written policy directions to its electricity regulatory commission on matters involving public interest. The commission must be guided by those directions while performing its statutory functions. Haryana used this authority during a dispute over electricity distribution.

HERC had allowed Eleven Power Private Limited a 25-year parallel licence in Gurugram and Nuh. The employees’ union opposed the decision and began a three-day strike. It raised concerns about job security, state-owned power utilities and affordable electricity. The government then directed HERC to reconsider the order and effectively withdraw the provision allowing private distribution.

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said HERC remained an independent body operating under its own legislation. He also said the government had authority under Section 108 to ask for a review. After the direction and government assurances, union representatives called off the strike and employees returned to duty.

HERC stands for the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission. It is an independent body governed by its own legislation. Its role includes issuing orders and directives connected with electricity regulation. That legal structure gives it decision-making independence from the state government in its statutory work.

HERC demonstrated that role by issuing an October 19 order granting Eleven Power Private Limited a 25-year parallel distribution licence in Gurugram and Nuh. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said the state government normally had to implement HERC’s orders and directives. The decision prompted opposition from electricity employees.

Independence does not remove every connection with the government. Section 108 allows the state to issue written policy directions when public interest is involved. HERC must be guided by those directions while carrying out its legal functions. Haryana used that power to seek a review and effectively cancel the private-distribution provision.

The employees’ union feared that private distribution could change the position of workers and state-owned power utilities. It specifically raised concerns about jobs, job security and the future of state-owned discoms. It also warned that electricity might become less affordable for consumers if private distribution expanded.

The immediate example was Eleven Power Private Limited’s 25-year parallel licence in Gurugram and Nuh. The licence would allow the company to distribute electricity alongside state-owned discoms. That arrangement could increase private participation in local supply, while the existing public utilities continued operating. The article does not establish that prices or jobs actually changed.

These concerns helped drive the three-day strike by around 40,000 employees and engineers. The Haryana government backed the workers’ position and said there would be no privatisation of any kind. It directed HERC to review the licence provision, but the article does not state the review’s final outcome.

Parallel distribution means two types of distributors can operate in the same territory. The private company would supply electricity through the local distribution system while state-owned discoms continued serving Gurugram and Nuh. The arrangement would not automatically remove the existing public utilities.

HERC’s October 19 order provided the concrete example. It granted Eleven Power Private Limited a 25-year parallel electricity distribution licence for Gurugram and Nuh. The company would therefore distribute power alongside Haryana’s state-owned discoms. The article does not detail how customers would choose a supplier or how networks would be coordinated.

That possibility triggered strong employee opposition. Around 40,000 electricity workers and engineers joined a three-day strike. The state government said it opposed privatisation and used Section 108 to direct HERC to review the provision. Until that review is resolved, the article does not confirm whether parallel private distribution will proceed.

Generation is the production of electricity at power plants. Transmission is the movement of that electricity over long distances through the high-voltage network. Distribution is the local delivery stage, carrying electricity from the broader network to homes, businesses and other consumers. These are separate parts of the electricity system.

The Haryana dispute concerns distribution, not the generation or long-distance transmission stages. HERC’s order would have allowed Eleven Power Private Limited to distribute electricity in Gurugram and Nuh. The company would have operated alongside state-owned discoms, which already distribute power in those areas.

That distinction matters because the proposed change involved who supplies consumers locally. Around 40,000 employees and engineers opposed the licence, citing jobs, public utilities and electricity costs. The government directed HERC to review the provision under Section 108. The article does not describe any change to electricity generation or transmission.