With the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) granting a 25-year parallel distribution licence to a private company on Monday, consumers in Gurugram and Nuh will have the option to choose their power distributor. The state government, however, has decided to challenge the order, while employees and engineers of the Energy Department, who oppose the move, have announced a protest.As per the HERC order, the company will have to obtain approval for a consumer migration protocol within 60 days of the grant of the licence. The actual migration of consumers can take place only in accordance with the approved protocol and the Consumer Migration Framework issued by the Commission from time to time.In its petition, Eleven Power Pvt Ltd sought a distribution licence under Sections 14 and 15 of the Electricity Act, 2003, to establish a renewable energy-focused, technology-driven power utility in Gurugram and Nuh districts. The company proposed an investment of Rs 4,716.73 crore over five years to develop a modern distribution network, with Nuh included in the first phase. It also proposed sourcing 80 per cent of its power from renewable energy.Energy Minister Anil Vij said, “We opposed this licence tooth and nail during the hearings. The HERC order is unacceptable and we will challenge it before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL). Our employees are also opposed to it. We do not want parallel licences.”Employees of the Energy Department view the move as a step towards privatisation that could burden consumers while weakening state-owned power utilities developed to meet Haryana’s energy needs.The move to grant a parallel electricity distribution licence to a private company had faced strong opposition during the monsoon session of the Haryana Assembly. Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda had raised concerns about its impact on state-owned power utilities, arguing that it would increase the financial burden on consumers and isolate heavily subsidised agricultural consumers.Responding to opposition criticism and widespread protests by power employees, Anil Vij had clarified in the Assembly that the state government itself opposed the proposal for a parallel power distribution licence.Meanwhile, former Finance Minister and INLD leader Prof Sampat Singh strongly criticised the decision, describing it as a grave and irreversible blow to Haryana’s public power sector and the interests of farmers, rural consumers and the poor. He said the move undermined the principle that essential public services should prioritise public welfare over profit.“The order has opened the door to a dangerous experiment in a sector where electricity is not an ordinary commodity but a natural monopoly and an essential public service. This order did not emerge in a vacuum. It follows sustained pressure and a carefully orchestrated campaign to hand over Haryana’s most profitable power distribution market to a private entity. The people of Haryana will not accept the claim that this is a consumer-choice reform,” he said.He further argued that the private licensee would naturally gravitate towards high-value industrial, commercial and urban consumers, while the DHBVNL would be left with the costlier responsibility of serving farmers, villages, small households and remote areas. “This is privatisation of profits and socialisation of losses,” he added.