Chandigarh: A Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) order granting a private company a 25-year licence to distribute electricity in Gurugram and Nuh has triggered opposition from the state government, power utilities and employee unions.
The commission granted the licence to Eleven Power Private Limited on Monday, citing data submitted by state distribution companies (discoms) showing more than one lakh applications pending for new electricity connections. The decision marks the first time a parallel distribution licence has been granted in Haryana, giving consumers in the two districts the option of choosing between the private operator and the state-owned Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (DHBVNL).
The order has prompted Energy Minister Anil Vij to announce plans to challenge it before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL). Power employee unions, which had been warning of a strike, have announced a three-day statewide shutdown from Thursday, 22 October.
हरियाणा विद्युत विनियामक आयोग द्वारा इलेवन पावर प्राइवेट लिमिटेड को गुरुग्राम और नूंह के लिए समानांतर बिजली वितरण लाइसेंस देने के आदेश के खिलाफ सरकार APTEL (विद्युत अपीलीय न्यायाधिकरण) में अपील करेगी ।
— Anil Vij Minister Haryana, India (@anilvijminister) October 19, 2026
According to the latest status submitted to the HERC, DHBVNL had 1,08,590 pending connection applications as of 1 October 2025, representing a load of 1,642.542 MW. Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (UHBVNL) reported another 20,603 pending applications, representing 770.407 MW, as of 30 September 2025.
The commission said the parallel licence would provide consumers with an alternative and promote competition.
Who is Eleven Power?
Eleven Power applied for the licence under Sections 14 and 15 of the Electricity Act, 2003, which govern the grant of electricity licences and the application process.
Incorporated on 6 June 2025, the company is part of the Eleven Group, led by Sunil Sachdeva, co-founder of Medanta. Its holding entity, SAS Fininvest LLP, owns 99.99 per cent of its shares. According to Medanta’s 2024 AGM notice, accessed by ThePrint, Sachdeva held about 11.71 per cent of the hospital company’s shares.
In its petition, Eleven Power proposed capital expenditure of Rs 4,716.73 crore over five years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31. Of this, Rs 4,650.37 crore was earmarked for the wires business and Rs 66.36 crore for the supply business. The company proposed financing the investment through Rs 1,415.02 crore in equity and Rs 3,301.71 crore in debt.
The company plans to source about 80 percent of its power from renewable energy and the remaining 20 percent from thermal sources. Its renewable supply strategy includes firm and dispatchable renewable energy, with transitional purchases through the Green Day Ahead Market. It also proposes battery storage under its “Green Gurugram and Nuh” initiative.
The licensed area covers the Gurugram and Nuh revenue districts. In Gurugram, it includes the municipal bodies of Gurugram, Manesar, Sohna, Pataudi Mandi and Farrukh Nagar. In Nuh, it covers Nuh, Punhana, Firozepur Jhirka and Tauru. Cantonments, aerodromes and other defence areas are covered subject to the conditions in the Ministry of Defence’s no-objection certificate dated 3 July 2026.
The order was signed by HERC Officiating Chairman Mukesh Garg and Member Shiv Kumar following hearings on 26 May, 8 July, 3 September and 28 September. Eleven Power was represented by Senior Advocate Sanjay Sen, while its directors Sikandar Verma and Sunil Sachdeva attended the proceedings.
What the licence requires
The 25-year licence takes effect from the date the commission communicates its decision. Eleven Power must convey its willingness to accept the licence and its conditions within one week of the order. The HERC will then publish a notice in one English and one Hindi daily.
The company must obtain the commission’s approval before purchasing power outside approved agreements, except for day-ahead or real-time exchange transactions and banking arrangements. Approval is also required for a takeover or merger involving another licensee, the transfer of its licence or utility, and loans or guarantees exceeding the limits prescribed under the Companies Act. Agreements entered into without the required approval will be void. The company must also immediately inform the HERC if anyone acquires a controlling interest in it.
The licence requires half-yearly progress reports covering expenditure, equity and debt, transmission bays, and connections by division and consumer category, along with audited unbundled accounts. Eleven Power must maintain a standing data-exchange link with the existing licensee, Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL) and the State Load Despatch Centre.
It must also operate digital portals for new connections, publish connection charges and procedures, and submit connection logs to ensure that no consumer category is sidelined. The HERC retains the power to review the licence and modify its conditions.
The five divisions identified in the licence are Gurugram Sub-urban, Gurugram City, Sohna, Manesar and Nuh.
Concerns over Nuh operations
A key objection before the commission was that a private distributor might concentrate on profitable urban consumers while neglecting less lucrative areas. Section 43 of the Electricity Act, which establishes the universal service obligation, requires a distributor to supply electricity to anyone requesting a connection within its area.
The state discoms and other petitioners argued that Eleven Power’s phased rollout would violate this obligation. The HERC rejected the argument, relying on an Appellate Tribunal for Electricity ruling dated 11 March 2026 in BEST v. MERC which held that distribution networks are developed in stages and that the universal service obligation can be fulfilled through a phased rollout.
The commission noted that Eleven Power’s plan covered the entire licensed area over five years, with Nuh included in Phase I (2026-27) and every subsequent phase. The company earmarked Rs 304.37 crore for Nuh, about 6.5 percent of its total proposed capital expenditure. The HERC concluded that the allegation of “cherry-picking” was not borne out by the plan and rejected the objection.
Petitioners, however, argued that the allocation was inadequate because Nuh was less profitable and had higher distribution losses. They said allocating merely 6.5 percent of the money was too little for the region. The commission recorded the concern but did not consider it sufficient grounds to deny the licence.
Who opposed the licence
The respondents to Eleven Power’s petition were DHBVNL, UHBVNL and HVPNL, which were impleaded by the HERC on its own motion on 26 May. They appeared through Senior Advocate Buddy A. Ranganathan and other lawyers, alongside senior discom officials.
Among the petitioners were Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) patron Sampat Singh, a former state minister who held portfolios including Irrigation and Power, Home, and Finance; advocate Anshul Mangla; and Rajmal Singh, president of a residents’ welfare association in Sector 112, Gurugram. CPI(M) state secretary Prem Chand and Kisan Sabha’s Sumit Dalal were also among those present on the petitioners’ side.
Sampat mounted the strongest challenge, describing the proposal as “backdoor privatisation” of a profitable part of the public distribution network. He argued that it would weaken state utilities’ finances and undermine the cross-subsidy system that helps keep electricity affordable for farmers and rural consumers.
He questioned whether a company incorporated less than a year earlier, with paid-up capital of Rs 1 crore, could undertake a project worth Rs 4,716.73 crore. He also challenged the reliance on the holding entity’s market value of Rs 4,085.60 crore, compared with its book value of Rs 94.95 crore. According to him, an IndusInd Bank solvency certificate for Rs 1,000 crore had been issued to the holding entity, not Eleven Power itself.
Sampat further argued that agricultural supply might fall outside the company’s scope because the state had announced a separate discom for agriculture. He cited the state’s farm subsidy of around Rs 7,870.32 crore as an indication of the financial implications.
The HERC rejected the objections, holding that Eleven Power met the capital adequacy and creditworthiness requirements under the 2005 rules. The commission cited Rs 91 crore in equity already invested in Phase I and an in-principle debt sanction of around Rs 205 crore.
The petition also received support from 32 intervenors, including the Gurgaon Industrial Association, BPTP Limited, Vatika Group, Munjal Showa, The Westin Gurgaon, The Westin Sohna Resort and Spa, Park View (Bestech), Onward Knitwear Solutions, Shivam Autotech, Ramsons Organics and the QERWA Association. Farmers’ associations in Nuh and Gurugram, along with individual farmers and consumers, also backed the proposal.
State to appeal against order
Haryana Energy Minister Anil Vij told ThePrint that the state government would challenge HERC’s order before APTEL.
Asked how a company could secure a distribution licence without the state government’s consent, Vij said HERC was constituted under a central law and functioned independently.
“We hired the best of lawyers to oppose the petition. Now that the verdict has come we will appeal to APTEL,” he said.
Sampat, meanwhile, told ThePrint that he would soon hold a press conference to challenge the government’s claims. He described the opposition mounted by DHBVNL, UHBVNL and HVPNL as an “eyewash”, arguing that the substantive objections had come from private parties such as himself.
Power employees announce three-day strike
The Haryana Bijli Karmchari evam Engineer Sanyukt Sangharsh Morcha has called a three-day statewide strike on 22, 23 and 24 October, describing the licence as “anti-people and anti-employee”.
The union body said the government had ignored its charter of demands despite assurances from the Energy Minister at a meeting on 10 August. It alleged that the government was moving towards handing the power sector to private operators and warned that the government and administration would be responsible for any industrial unrest if the licence and its demands were not addressed before the strike.
(Edited by Chingkheinganbi Mayengbam)