From homes running out of inverter backup to children completing homework under mobile phone torches and villagers blocking highways over prolonged outages, Haryana's power crisis has spread across multiple districts as electricity employees continue their strike against privatisation.
The disruption has hit Gurugram, Faridabad, Nuh, Sonipat, Rewari, Jhajjar, Karnal and Ambala, affecting households, water supplies and industrial operations.
The employees began their three-day strike at 10 pm on Wednesday, October 21, opposing the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission's (HERC) decision to grant a 25-year parallel electricity distribution licence to private company Eleven Power for Gurugram and Nuh.
The strike is scheduled to continue until October 24.
GURUGRAM RECEIVES OVER 3,000 POWER COMPLAINTS
In Gurugram, widespread outages began late on Wednesday night, with the power department receiving more than 3,000 complaints within the first 12 hours of the strike, an official said.
Several residential sectors and colonies experienced prolonged power cuts.
As inverter backups ran out, residents were forced to rely on generators, while disruptions to electricity also affected water supplies in several areas.
Industrial units in Daulatabad, Kadipur, Basai and Sector 37 were among those affected, raising concerns about production losses and delayed deliveries.
Deepak Maini, chairman of the Progressive Federation of Trade and Industry, said there had been no electricity supply in Sector 37 since 10 pm on Wednesday.
He warned that prolonged outages could affect production, business operations, the availability of finished goods and delivery schedules.
Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Uttam Singh held discussions with striking employees late on Wednesday, urging them to reconsider their decision. However, the talks remained inconclusive.
POWER CRISIS SPREADS ACROSS HARYANA
The strike's impact has extended beyond Gurugram, with residents in several districts reporting prolonged blackouts and disruptions to daily life.
In Nuh, some areas reportedly remained without electricity for nearly 24 hours. The outage affected households and created difficulties in arranging drinking water for livestock.
Police personnel were also deployed to guard electricity department offices amid the disruption.
Sonipat also reported power outages as the strike continued, while several large areas of Ambala city remained without electricity.
In Rewari, residents of Palhawas and neighbouring villages blocked National Highway 352 to protest prolonged power cuts.
Villagers took to the streets demanding the restoration of electricity as the disruption affected daily activities.
In Jhajjar's Balmiki Basti, residents said they had been without electricity for two days.
The outage affected schoolchildren, who were reportedly using mobile phone torches to complete their homework.
Karnal residents also faced difficulties, with concerns growing over a possible shortage of drinking water if the outages continued.
In Faridabad, residents of the New Industrial Township-2 area staged a protest demanding the restoration of electricity. The disruption had also affected water supplies.
Police reached the area after receiving information about a road blockade and dispersed the protesters after pacifying them.
GOVT WILL CHALLENGE ORDER: HARYANA MINISTER
Amid the disruption, Haryana Energy Minister Anil Vij announced that the state government would challenge HERC's decision to grant a parallel electricity distribution licence to Eleven Power before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL).
Vij said the government would file an appeal and seek a stay on the implementation of the order. The announcement comes amid mounting opposition from electricity employees, who have argued that the entry of a private distributor could weaken the state-run Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN).
The proposed licence would allow Eleven Power to distribute electricity in Gurugram and Nuh for 25 years. The decision has triggered concerns among employees about job security and the future of the existing public-sector distribution network.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has also appealed to electricity employees to reconsider their strike, assuring them that the government supports their concerns and will contest the HERC decision.
DEEPENDER HOODA TARGETS STATE GOVERNMENT
The power crisis has also triggered a political exchange, with Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda criticising the Haryana government over the disruption.
In a post on X, Hooda wrote, “Haryana ke CM hai Nayab, pradesh mein bijli hai gayab (Haryana's Chief Minister is Nayab, but electricity has disappeared from the state)."
The remark targeted Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini over the widespread outages during the employees' strike.
Meanwhile, the government's decision to challenge the HERC order has added another dimension to the dispute. Although the government has expressed support for the employees' concerns, the unions have continued their agitation over the grant of the parallel distribution licence.
WHY ARE ELECTRICITY EMPLOYEES ON STRIKE?
The employees' joint forum has opposed the licence granted to Eleven Power, arguing that allowing a private operator to distribute electricity in high-revenue areas could weaken DHBVN and undermine the existing public-sector distribution system.
The unions have also raised concerns about the future of around 40,000 regular, contractual and outsourced employees and engineers.
They contend that private operators could prioritise profitable urban and industrial consumers while leaving state-run utilities to bear the financial burden of supplying electricity to rural and agricultural consumers.
The employees have described the move as being against the interests of workers and the public, warning that it could affect farmers, small businesses and consumers.
The HERC order and the proposed entry of Eleven Power remain at the centre of the confrontation. The state government is preparing its legal challenge, while the employees' three-day strike is scheduled to continue until October 24.
With power cuts affecting residential areas, industrial operations and water supplies across multiple districts, the immediate challenge for the administration is to restore electricity and minimise disruption while attempting to resolve the dispute.
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