Haryana power employees and engineers began a three-day statewide strike from 22 October 2026 to protest against the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (HERC) decision to grant a 25-year parallel distribution licence to Eleven Power Private Limited for Gurugram and Nuh districts.
The strike was called by the Haryana Bijli Karamchari and Engineers Sanyukt Sangharsh Morcha, which alleged that the government had ignored its earlier strike notice and continued with what it termed “anti-employee and anti-consumer” decisions. The complete statewide strike will be observed from 22 October to 24 October 2026, the Morcha said in its revised strike notice.
HERC granted Eleven Power, part of the Eleven Group led by Medanta co-founder Sunil Sachdeva, the parallel distribution licence through its order dated 19 October 2026. The commission said its decision was influenced by a pending backlog of more than 1.29 lakh applications for electricity connections and load enhancement, involving a combined load of 2,412.949 MW, with Haryana’s northern and southern distribution utilities.
The Morcha termed the licence “anti-people and anti-employee” and alleged that the move was aimed at handing over profitable areas to private players and weakening the state-owned Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN). On 21 October, employees burned copies of the HERC ruling and the draft licence at more than 300 power sub-divisions across the state.
The state government has said it will also challenge the HERC order. Haryana Energy Minister Anil Vij announced the decision in a post on X, saying the government will appeal before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL).
“The government will appeal before APTEL against the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission’s order granting a parallel electricity distribution licence to Eleven Power,” Vij said.
Eleven Power has proposed capital expenditure of ₹4,716.73 crore over five years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31, and has said power supply from its network is expected to start in 2027-28. The confrontation is India’s first live test of a parallel private distribution licence operating alongside a state-owned discom in a major urban market, and the outcome of the APTEL challenge and the ongoing employee agitation will shape how similar proposals in other states are handled.
