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Power regulator seeks fresh comments from stakeholders on expert committee report
The commission on Thursday conducted a hearing on the matter, however reserved its order on the application. Two interlocutory applications filed by DHBVN and UHBVN in the matter were also disposed of
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Facing pressure from agitating power employees, the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) on Thursday sought fresh comments and objections from the stakeholders on the report of the expert committee constituted by the commission to examine the petition of a private company, Eleven Power Private Limited for granting a parallel distribution licence in Gurugram and Nuh districts.
The commission on Thursday conducted a hearing on the matter, however reserved its order on the application. Two interlocutory applications filed by DHBVN and UHBVN in the matter were also disposed of.
The commission, in an interim order of September 3 said that applications containing request for supply of copy of report of the expert committee along with other documents was handed over by Congress MLA from Nuh, Aftab Ahmed, and All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF), Haryana Power Engineers Association (HPEA) and their members.
“Accordingly, upon hearing the parties and acceding to the request of the respondents as well as the other objectors, the report of the expert committee shall be forwarded by email to the 43 intervenors who may file their comments, objections and suggestions on or before September 15, 2026,’’ the commission said. It also allowed petitioner, Eleven Power as well as the respondent Haryana Power Utilities to file their written submissions on or before September 15, 2026.
The application for parallel power distribution network was filed by Eleven Power under Sections 14 and 15 of the Electricity Act, 2003, along with the applicable HERC regulations and the distribution of electricity Licence (Additional Requirements of Capital Adequacy, Creditworthiness and Code of Conduct) Rules, 2005. The issue assumed significance as the application has drawn objections from a large number of stakeholders.
The expert committee constituted by commission to examine the petition Eleven Power for parallel electricity distribution licence had recommended that the licence may be granted.
State owned power distribution company, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) at present exclusively serves electricity consumers in the two districts. Sunil Sachdeva, the co- founder of Medanta - The Medicity, a leading chain of multi-super specialty hospitals is the director of Eleven Power and chairman of Eleven Group.
The panel headed by retired IAS officer, Alok Nigam in its report submitted to the commission said the committee has not found any ground upon which the Eleven Power’s petition falls to be refused. “The committee accordingly recommends that a parallel distribution licence may be considered to be granted to the applicant subject to the conditions as suggested in schedules A to D. The matters requiring regulatory attention are matters of implementation, sequencing and continuing supervision and the committee has recommended the licence conditions and safeguards by which they may be addressed,’’ said the report which is recommendatory in nature.
The committee’s recommendations, however, were challenged by the power engineer’s bodies who have raised questions over whether a new licensee can fulfil the statutory condition of universal supply obligation (USO) while building its network in a phased manner.
Representatives of the power engineer’s bodies who are intervenors in the petition had questioned whether the expert panel has adequately tested Eleven Power’s phased, demand driven model’s compatibility with the statutory obligation to serve the entire licenced area according to USO.
While Eleven Power has committed to spend about ₹4,716 crore in five years (from 2026-27 till 2030-31) with 84% of its five year capital expenditure being in the last three years, the expert panel has accepted this phased investment plan, notwithstanding the contention raised by DHBVN that ₹11,397 crore would be required to create infrastructure capable of meeting the universal service obligation (USO) across two districts. Brushing aside DHBVN’s argument, the panel has treated the two estimates as based on different approaches for network development with Eleven Power proposing a phased, demand linked rollout.
The commission fixed September 3 for hearing after the two state owned distribution companies DHBVN and UHBVN filed interlocutory applications. The two companies sought copies of additional documents filed by Eleven Power and the expert committee’s report so that they could submit their comments.
HERC subsequently circulated the expert committee report to the petitioner and the respondents and allowed them to submit their replies. Eleven Power was also permitted to respond to the committee report and file a rejoinder to the respondents’ submissions.
Engineers, employees protest at power regulator’s hearing
The joint action committee (JAC) of Haryana electricity employees and engineers staged a protest outside the office of the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) at Panchkula on Thursday questioning the credibility of the “so called expert committee report” which recommended granting a parallel power distribution licence to the Eleven Power Private Limited in Gurugram and Nuh.
The protest demonstration took place when HERC was hearing objections filed by Haryana Power Utilities regarding the parallel power distribution licence.
A JAC spokesperson said the protest was led by Ravinder Ghanghas, the general secretary of the Haryana Power Engineers Association (HPEA). Employees and engineers carrying placards questioned the parallel distribution licence proposal and the credibility of the expert committee report. Ghanghas said the expert committee did not include the views of various stakeholders in its report.
The tariff hike for common consumers will increase because of parallel licensing, he said.
The spokesperson said HERC’s hearing was crucial for the future of the state’s power sector. Consequently, employees, engineers, officials, and consumers from across the state gathered in Panchkula to register their protest before the commission, the spokesperson said.
