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Haryana power employees end strike after state tells HERC not to operationalise parallel licences
Power employees ended their two-day strike on Friday after a three-hour meeting in Panchkula. The state used Section 108 of the Electricity Act to tell the regulator not to create or operationalise any parallel distribution licence, and Chief Minister Saini promised no privatisation.
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Haryana's power employees called off their strike on Friday evening, 23 October, after a meeting with the state government in Panchkula that lasted about three hours over two rounds. The government agreed to use Section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003, to direct the state's electricity regulator not to create or operationalise any parallel distribution licence anywhere in Haryana. That was the main demand of the employees, who had stopped work from 10 pm on Wednesday after the regulator granted a 25-year licence to Eleven Power Private Limited for Gurugram and Nuh.
The talks were held in the presence of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Energy Minister Anil Vij. Shailendra Dubey, chairman of the All India Power Engineers Federation, led the employees' side. Dubey said the government had accepted the principal demand by issuing directions to the regulator and that the other demands remained pending. Saini said "there will be no privatisation of any kind", that the government is committed to protecting consumers and employees, and that its position on parallel licences had been clear from the start. A meeting on the remaining demands has been set for 3 November at 3 pm.
What the letter says
Section 108 lets the regulator be guided by the state government on matters of public interest, and the government's decision is final where a direction concerns policy. The letter, signed by the Chief Minister and the Energy Minister under Section 108(1), tells the regulator not to "create, operationalise or effectuate any parallel distribution licence". It cites consumer and public interest and the financial implications for the state, and says the government had received reports of agitation and worry among the public, farmers, consumers and employees.
The letter lists the objections to the Eleven Power licence. The company is said not to meet requirements on the minimum area of supply, capital adequacy, creditworthiness, technical capability and universal service obligations. The government also cites worries about the selective acquisition of high-revenue consumers, cross-subsidies, existing power purchase commitments, stranded costs, duplicated distribution infrastructure, and the financial burden on the existing distribution company and its customers. It says it is not examining whether the regulator's findings were correct, and that it issued the directive as a policy matter with the Chief Minister's approval. A copy went to the employees' leaders.
The letter stops the regulator from creating or operationalising parallel licences, but the reports do not say what happens to the licence already granted to Eleven Power. Vij said the government and the employees stand together against parallel licences and that a review petition is being prepared. On Wednesday the government had said it would go to the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity against the regulator's order, and the reports on Friday do not mention that route. The company has not commented.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 19 Oct | Regulator grants the 25-year licence |
| 21 Oct, 10 pm | Strike begins; Gurugram, Faridabad and Nuh lose power |
| 22 Oct | About 40,000 staff on strike; outages spread to other districts |
| 23 Oct | Panchkula talks; government sends letter under Section 108; strike ends |
| 3 Nov, 3 pm | Meeting on the remaining demands |
The cost of two days
The strike was called by the Haryana Electricity Employees and Engineers Joint Struggle Front and involved about 40,000 regular, contract and outsourced staff, with national union leaders and most of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha backing it. Staff burnt effigies of the Chief Minister and the regulator's chairman. Officers were called back from leave, technical staff were requested from four other states, and local bodies were told to keep hospitals and the Metro supplied. The strike caused blackouts in several villages and urban areas, and residents blocked roads in protest in places. In Gurugram more than 3,000 complaints were logged in the first 12 hours, industrial units in Sector 37, Kadipur and Basai halted work, and water supply was hit where pumps stopped. The employees had argued that the licence threatened the public distribution system and could hurt farmers, poorer consumers and staff. For the government the settlement is a relief after public anger over the cuts, and the employees said supply would be restored immediately.
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