Power cuts lasting hours across Gurugram, Faridabad and Nuh have brought Haryana’s electricity privatisation dispute into sharp focus. Residents across parts of Gurugram, Faridabad and Nuh have been grappling with prolonged power cuts since the night of October 22, as a three-day strike by Haryana’s electricity employees and engineers began to disrupt electricity supply. By the morning of October 23, complaints of outages lasting several hours were emerging from residential neighbourhoods, while businesses dependent on uninterrupted power were also feeling the impact.
In Faridabad, residents of Sectors 16 and 31 reported no electricity since midnight or the early hours of Thursday. In the NIT-2 area, frustrated residents took to the streets over the prolonged outage, with protests leading to a road blockade, according to local reports. Gurugram, too, witnessed widespread disruption, with residents reporting problems extending beyond lighting and household appliances to water supply and internet connectivity. Gyms and other commercial establishments were among the businesses affected.
The disruption followed a statewide strike called by electricity employees against the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (HERC) decision to grant a private company a licence to distribute electricity in Gurugram and Nuh. The dispute has now developed into a confrontation involving employee unions, the state government and the power regulator, with consumers bearing the immediate consequences.
Why Are Haryana Power Employees On Strike?
The immediate trigger is HERC’s October 18 decision to grant Eleven Power Private Limited a 25-year parallel electricity distribution licence for Gurugram and Nuh. The licence would allow the private company to enter areas currently served by the state-owned Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN).
The Haryana Electricity Employees and Engineers Joint Struggle Front, along with other employee organisations, has opposed the move, arguing that it amounts to indirect privatisation of the state’s power distribution system.
The unions contend that allowing a private operator into commercially important areas such as Gurugram and Nuh could weaken the public utility by allowing a private player to compete in its existing service areas. They have also raised concerns about employees’ job security and the possible implications for farmers and ordinary electricity consumers.
The employees had announced a three-day statewide strike from October 22 to 24 after earlier protests and representations failed to resolve the dispute. The strike began at 10 pm on October 21, according to the Haryana Electricity Employees and Engineers Joint Struggle Front, with the action continuing into October 22 and 23.
The unions have warned that the agitation could be intensified if their demands are not met. Their principal demand is the withdrawal of the private distribution licence and a halt to the proposed privatisation of electricity distribution.
What Is The Dispute?
In a conventional privatisation model, a government may transfer ownership or operational control of a public utility to a private entity. A parallel distribution licence, however, allows another licensed distributor to operate in an area already served by an existing distribution company, subject to the applicable regulatory framework.
In this case, Eleven Power’s licence would permit it to enter the electricity distribution market in Gurugram and Nuh alongside DHBVN, rather than simply replacing the state-owned utility across Haryana.
The employees’ concern is that the entry of a private competitor into these areas could eventually undermine the public utility’s financial position and employment structure. Union representatives have argued that commercially attractive areas could be drawn away from the state-run company, leaving it with a weaker revenue base.
The licence has also triggered a wider debate over how electricity distribution should be managed, who should be responsible for infrastructure investment and how the interests of consumers and public-sector employees can be protected.
