The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) has granted Eleven Power Private Limited a 25-year parallel electricity distribution licence covering the entire Gurugram and Nuh revenue districts. The order, passed on 19 October 2026 in Petition No. 30 of 2026, is the first of its kind in Haryana. It allows a second licensee to build its own network and supply consumers in an area that is currently served only by the state-owned Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (DHBVNL).
The licence has been granted under the sixth proviso to Section 14 of the Electricity Act, 2003, which permits two or more licensees to distribute electricity through their own systems in the same area, provided the applicant meets the capital adequacy, creditworthiness and code-of-conduct requirements prescribed by the Central Government.
Licence Area and Consumers
The licence (No. DRS-3 of 2026) covers both districts, including the Gurugram and Manesar Municipal Corporations, Sohna, and the towns of Nuh, Punhana, Firozepur Jhirka and Tauru. The area served about 8.36 lakh consumers in FY2024-25, including households, farmers, shops, offices and industrial units. They will be able to choose between the two licensees once Eleven Power’s network reaches their locality, while DHBVNL continues as the existing licensee.
Eleven Power was incorporated in June 2025 and is part of the Eleven Group (formerly SAS Group), with its holding entity SAS Fininvest LLP owning 99.99% of its shares. Its consortium partners are Advait Energy Transitions, Vision India Services and HEC Infra Projects.
Investment and Network Plan
Eleven Power has proposed capital expenditure of ₹4,716.73 crore between FY2026-27 and FY2030-31. Of this, ₹4,650.37 crore is allocated to the wires business and ₹66.36 crore to the supply business. Funding is planned through ₹1,415.02 crore of equity, in line with the 30% equity norm, and ₹3,301.71 crore of debt.
The network will be rolled out in phases across five divisions: Gurugram City, Gurugram Sub-urban, Manesar, Sohna and Nuh. Supply to consumers is planned from FY2027-28. The design includes N-1 redundancy, a SCADA-enabled high-tension network with a distribution management system, ring-main configuration, underground cabling across Gurugram and a mix of underground and overhead lines in Nuh. Consumers will be served through smart meters and digital billing.
Renewable-Led Power Procurement
Eleven Power plans to source about 80% of its electricity from renewable energy, through Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy (FDRE) contracts, about half of them from within Haryana, and transitional purchases from the Green Day Ahead Market. The remaining 20% will come from thermal sources to provide base-load reliability. The petition identifies solar, wind and hybrid projects as renewable sources, and the renewable supply is to be backed by battery energy storage under the company’s “Green Gurugram and Nuh” initiative.
Based on growth rates approved by the Commission, annual electricity sales in the area are projected to rise from about 12,220 million units in FY2024-25 to about 18,224 million units in FY2030-31.
Basis of the Commission’s Decision
HERC took note of a backlog of new connection requests with the state distribution companies. DHBVNL reported 1,08,590 pending applications, representing about 1,642 MW of load, as of 1 October 2025, while Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (UHBVNL) reported 20,603 pending applications for about 770 MW. The Commission observed that a parallel licensee would give consumers an alternative and promote competition.
Before deciding, HERC impleaded DHBVNL, UHBVNL and Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL) as respondents, invited public objections, held four hearings between May and September 2026, and obtained a report from a three-member expert committee chaired by Alok Nigam.
On the concern that a private licensee might serve only profitable urban consumers, HERC relied on an APTEL ruling of 11 March 2026 holding that the universal service obligation under Section 43 can be met through a phased rollout. It noted that Nuh is included from the first phase, with ₹304.37 crore, about 6.5% of total capex, earmarked for the district, and found the allegation of “cherry-picking” unsupported. The Commission also held that the company met the capital adequacy and creditworthiness requirements, citing ₹91 crore of equity already invested for Phase I and an in-principle debt sanction of about ₹205 crore.
Conditions Attached to the Licence
Eleven Power must confirm its acceptance of the licence and its conditions within one week. Within 60 days of the grant, it must submit a detailed Phase I implementation plan and file a petition seeking approval of a migration protocol, since consumers can switch only under a Commission-approved mechanism covering dues, defaulters and metering. Tariffs will be regulated by HERC. Prior Commission approval is required for power purchases outside approved agreements, a change in control, mergers and transfer of the utility.
The licensee must file half-yearly progress reports on capex, funding and connections, maintain a data-exchange interface with DHBVNL, HVPNL and the State Load Despatch Centre, and operate digital portals for new connection applications.
Opposition and the Road Ahead
Haryana Energy Minister Anil Vij has announced that the state government will appeal the order before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL). During the proceedings, power employee unions, engineers’ federations and former Power Minister Sampat Singh objected to the petition, while industry associations, developers and farmer groups from the region supported it.
With this order, Haryana joins the limited number of regions in India, such as Mumbai, where parallel distribution licences are in operation. The outcome of the proposed appeal and the implementation plan due within 60 days will determine how quickly consumers in Gurugram and Nuh gain access to a second electricity supplier.
Official Sources
- HERC – Order in Petition No. 30 of 2026 (Eleven Power Private Limited), dated 19.10.2026: https://herc.org.in/WriteReadData/Orders/O20261019.pdf
- HERC – Current Year Orders: https://herc.org.in/CurrentYearOrders.aspx
- HERC – Electricity Act, 2003: https://herc.org.in/content/108_1_ElectricityAct.aspx
- Shri Anil Vij, Energy Minister, Haryana – Official statement on X (19.10.2026): https://x.com/anilvijminister/status/2112194955540377791
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