Plans to introduce a private power distributor in Gurugram and Nuh have been put on hold after the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) on Wednesday decided “not to proceed further” with rolling out a distribution licence to Eleven Power Private Limited.The freeze comes just nine days after HERC granted the 25-year licence on October 19. The move had triggered a strike by electricity employees, who feared it could draw consumers and revenue away from the state discom, threaten government jobs, and lead to higher electricity tariffs.Dismissing the firm’s plea for a hearing, HERC, in a three-page order Wednesday, noted that with the state government issuing binding policy directions barring parallel licences, “no adjudicatory exercise is left for the Commission to undertake”.The Commission acted on an October 26 directive from the Energy Department issued under Section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003. The provision empowers state governments to issue binding directions on policy matters involving “public interest”, with Section 108(2) specifying that the state’s assessment of what constitutes public interest is legally final.Approved by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, the government halted the rollout citing the state-wide strike by power utility staff and revenue risks if state-run discoms lost high-paying consumers.Two views of ‘public interest’In the 800-page official record leading up to the initial approval — which included HERC’s 457-page approval order and a 282-page report by an Independent Expert Committee — public interest was defined as ending territorial monopolies, enabling consumer choice, and clearing a chronic power connection backlog.The three-member panel, headed by retired senior IAS officer Alok Nigam, held that under the Electricity Act, public interest cannot merely mean protecting incumbent utilities’ commercial comfort.Story continues below this adParliament intended parallel licensing to promote competition, the panel noted, adding that consumer migration and revenue impacts are foreseeable outcomes to be addressed through regular annual tariff revisions, not by blocking market entry.It also rejected union claims under Section 133, ruling that service protections apply only to utility restructuring, not competition.The HERC also cited a large backlog of pending electricity connections. Official records showed that, as of October 2025, 1.29 lakh applications involving a combined load of 2,412.95 MW were pending across Haryana. The backlog had remained virtually unchanged over six months.It noted that timely connection is an essential service, making alternative supply critical.Story continues below this adThe Energy Department, however, wrote to the HERC, stating: “The state government is gravely concerned about the impact of the grant of a parallel licence on consumers… and its impact on public interest… The state government, as a matter of policy and to protect the interest of consumers generally in the State… hereby directs the Commission not to create, operationalise or effectuate a parallel distribution licence anywhere in the State of Haryana.”For the government, public interest meant averting employee unrest and shielding discom finances.Also Read | First private player gets Haryana power regulator nod, faces government oppositionUnions hail victoryPower employee unions hailed the decision.Subhash Lamba, vice-president of the Electricity Employees Federation of India (EEFI), called it “a historic and unprecedented victory of the strike carried out through the broad unity of electricity employees and engineers, backed by widespread support from the general public, farmers, workers, and employees”.Story continues below this adLamba added that the joint front will now intensify its movement against the Union Power Ministry’s moves to “list power corporations on the stock market, introduce smart metering, and establish the Agri DISCOM,” and raise these issues with the Power Minister on November 3.Eleven Power indicated it will appeal. “We hold both the Commission and the state government in the highest regard, and we will continue to engage with them in the same respectful and constructive manner… We will pursue the remedies available to us under law,” a spokesperson said.“Gurugram and Nuh deserve world-class, reliable power and real consumer choice, as Mumbai has had for decades,” the spokesperson added, maintaining that its investment commitment to both districts remains unchanged.