Haryana power unions call off strike after CM assures no privatisation

Updated October 30. The Chief Minister's assurance did not end the matter in the way this article first left it. On October 28, the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) put Eleven Power's licence on hold: it decided "not to proceed further" for as long as the government's October 26 direction under Section 108 of the Electricity Act remains in force. The reports say the October 19 approval has not been revoked, and Eleven Power says it will pursue legal remedies.

Electricity employees and engineers across Haryana began a three-day strike late on Wednesday, 21-22 October, against a 25-year parallel electricity distribution licence granted by the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission to Eleven Power Private Limited for Gurugram and Nuh (PSU Watch, The Free Press Journal, Mint). Supply failed in parts of Gurugram, Faridabad and Nuh from about 10 pm on Wednesday, with breakdown complaints left unattended (O Heraldo, The Times of India). The unions called off the strike on Friday after meeting Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Power Minister Anil Vij, who said private players would not be allowed into the state's power sector (The New Indian Express, DNA India).

What every report agrees on

All reports place the licence order on 19 October under Section 14 of the Electricity Act, 2003, covering both revenue districts for 25 years (The Economic Times, Hindustan Times). The Haryana Bijli Karamchari and Engineers Joint Sangharsh Morcha called the strike from 22 October, with around 40,000 employees said to have joined (PSU Watch, The Hindu). Reports agree the state government opposed the order and said it would challenge it before an appellate tribunal, while asking employees to end the strike (The Economic Times, India Today, Mint). The disruption hit homes, water supply and industry: more than 50,000 homes and about 1,800 manufacturing units in Gurugram were affected, and residents came onto the streets (The Free Press Journal, The Times of India, ABP Live). The strike ended after the Chief Minister's assurance and a decision to have the HERC order reviewed (Business Today, DNA India, The New Indian Express).

How the left-leaning press told it

Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, The Hindu and The New Indian Express: Monopoly ends, utilities object

Hindustan Times reported the regulator cleared the licence despite opposition from the utilities, noting the company was incorporated in 2025 and had proposed a procurement mix of 80% renewable and 20% thermal power (Hindustan Times). The Hindu led with the strike call and carried condemnation of the decision by farmer organisations and opposition parties, alongside Vij's statement that an autonomous body took the decision while the government opposes privatisation (The Hindu). The Indian Express framed the order as a possible end to the monopoly of the state-owned DHBVNL and recorded mixed responses to it (The Indian Express). The New Indian Express closed the sequence with the unions calling off the strike after the Chief Minister's assurance that parallel licences would be revoked (The New Indian Express).

How the right-leaning press told it

ThePrint, The Economic Times, India Today, The Times of India and ABP Live: Consumer choice versus union resistance

ThePrint's explainer set out the regulator's reasoning that a parallel licence would increase competition and give consumers a choice, and listed who was opposing it (ThePrint). The Economic Times reported Vij's announcement of an appeal and carried Eleven Power's own statement on the order (The Economic Times). India Today described the unions holding firm against the government's appeal to call off the strike, reporting their view that the licence threatens the state-run utility (India Today). The Times of India and ABP Live stayed with the outage itself, reporting dark homes, dry taps, idle factories and hours-long cuts in Gurugram and Faridabad (The Times of India, ABP Live).

How the centre told it

Mint: Blackouts and government appeal

Mint ran a running account of the strike and the cuts across Gurugram and its industrial areas, tying them to the HERC decision on Eleven Power (Mint). It reported the Chief Minister's statement that the government would challenge the order before an appellate tribunal and noted solidarity from labour unions and workers' organisations (Mint).

What the record shows

The documentary basis in the reports is the HERC order dated 19 October under Section 14 of the Electricity Act, 2003, and a statement issued by Eleven Power (The Economic Times). The regulator's stated reasoning, as reported by ThePrint, is that a parallel licence will raise competition and give consumers a choice (ThePrint). Against this, The Hindu reports farmer organisations and opposition parties calling the decision against the public interest, and the unions' position that it is a step toward privatisation is reported by India Today (The Hindu, India Today). On the resolution, Business Today reports the government assured employees there would be no privatisation and would ask HERC to review its order (Business Today); DNA India reports the Chief Minister invoked Section 108 for that review (DNA India); The New Indian Express reports the assurance went further, that parallel licences would be revoked (The New Indian Express). The reports of the strike's week do not record any order revoking or staying the licence, nor any filing before the appellate tribunal. Later reports show the licence was put on hold on October 28 (see the update at the top and the next paragraph).

Update, October 30: the regulator put the licence on hold. The government wrote to HERC on October 26 under Section 108(1) of the Electricity Act, 2003, directing that no parallel distribution licence be created, operationalised or effectuated anywhere in Haryana; it said it was not examining the correctness of HERC's October 19 findings (The New Indian Express, The Hindu BusinessLine). In an order dated October 28, HERC's officiating chairman Mukesh Garg and member Shiv Kumar decided "not to proceed further" with the matter for as long as those directions remain in force. They rejected Eleven Power's request for advance notice and a hearing, saying Section 108(2) makes the government's view of a public-interest policy matter final and that no adjudicatory exercise remained (The Hindu BusinessLine, Hindustan Times, The Times of India). The Times of India notes the order does not describe the October 19 approval as revoked (The Times of India); Mercom India's headline says the regulator "scraps" the licence, but its text says HERC decided not to implement it (Mercom India). Eleven Power's spokesperson said the company would keep engaging with HERC and the government and "pursue the remedies available to us under law" (Hindustan Times); the Free Press Journal, citing Business Standard, reports the same (The Free Press Journal). Hindustan Times reports officials saying the company's next step is a challenge before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, and that the strike had been called off after the government agreed to invoke Section 108 (Hindustan Times). The Indian Express sets the decision against the Centre's push for parallel licensing in its draft National Electricity Policy, 2026 and draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (The Indian Express). The All India Power Engineers Federation's chairman welcomed the order (The New Indian Express).

Drafted by the Alethman engine from 15 independent reports, checked by an editor before publication, and updated on October 30 with 8 further reports of the regulator's October 28 order. An outlet's side comes from published media-bias ratings (Media Bias/Fact Check, AllSides) or documented ownership, named under the coverage bar; Alethman does not rate outlets itself.