Sampat Singh slams HERC report, warns private power licence will hit farmers
Chandigarh: Former Haryana finance minister and INLD patron Sampat Singh on Saturday attacked the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) over its Aug 7 expert committee report, alleging that the proposed private power distribution licence would weaken state-owned discom DHBVN and ultimately burden farmers and rural consumers.
Singh alleged that HERC had abdicated its statutory responsibilities under the Electricity Act by relying on an external expert panel to evaluate the proposal. He also questioned the alleged closed-door proceedings, demanding public disclosure of all records related to the licensing process. Sampat Singh’s main objection was the proposed private operator's alleged "cherry-picking" of lucrative industrial consumers in Gurgaon. Singh claimed that nearly 42% of DHBVN's total revenue comes from Gurgaon's high-density industrial hubs and alleged that the applicant was targeting high-value 220 kV and 66 kV consumers while proposing investments of only ₹1.52 crore and ₹2.34 crore in the city in its first two years.
"This will strip DHBVN of its cross-subsidy engine," Singh said, warning that the loss of high-margin consumers could put pressure on the public utility's ability to subsidise agricultural power.
He questioned who would bear the burden of the state's ₹7,870-crore annual agricultural power subsidy if profitable consumers moved to a private distributor. Any attempt to account for the revenue loss through future annual revenue requirement exercises would, he said, eventually translate into higher tariffs for farmers and rural households.
Singh also criticised the proposed rollout in Nuh , where he said aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses were around 42%. He alleged that the report accepted a phased market share of just 2.5% to 15% without firm timelines for rural supply, while failing to adequately address the state's proposed separate agricultural utility.
He demanded immediate rejection of the expert committee report, complete disclosure of the licensing records and mandatory safeguards to protect cross-subsidies for agricultural consumers.
"Consumers, farmers, employees and engineers will not allow Haryana's power sector to be carved up for corporate greed," Singh said, warning of a wider agitation if the government and HERC proceeded with the proposal.
Singh alleged that HERC had abdicated its statutory responsibilities under the Electricity Act by relying on an external expert panel to evaluate the proposal. He also questioned the alleged closed-door proceedings, demanding public disclosure of all records related to the licensing process. Sampat Singh’s main objection was the proposed private operator's alleged "cherry-picking" of lucrative industrial consumers in Gurgaon. Singh claimed that nearly 42% of DHBVN's total revenue comes from Gurgaon's high-density industrial hubs and alleged that the applicant was targeting high-value 220 kV and 66 kV consumers while proposing investments of only ₹1.52 crore and ₹2.34 crore in the city in its first two years.
"This will strip DHBVN of its cross-subsidy engine," Singh said, warning that the loss of high-margin consumers could put pressure on the public utility's ability to subsidise agricultural power.
He questioned who would bear the burden of the state's ₹7,870-crore annual agricultural power subsidy if profitable consumers moved to a private distributor. Any attempt to account for the revenue loss through future annual revenue requirement exercises would, he said, eventually translate into higher tariffs for farmers and rural households.
Singh also criticised the proposed rollout in Nuh , where he said aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses were around 42%. He alleged that the report accepted a phased market share of just 2.5% to 15% without firm timelines for rural supply, while failing to adequately address the state's proposed separate agricultural utility.
He demanded immediate rejection of the expert committee report, complete disclosure of the licensing records and mandatory safeguards to protect cross-subsidies for agricultural consumers.
"Consumers, farmers, employees and engineers will not allow Haryana's power sector to be carved up for corporate greed," Singh said, warning of a wider agitation if the government and HERC proceeded with the proposal.
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