Gurugram, Oct. 29 -- The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) on Wednesday put on hold an October 19 order that gave a private company a parallel power distribution licence for Gurugram and Nuh after the state government told the regulator to not enable any such licence in the state. In a three-page order, officiating chairman Mukesh Garg and member Shiv Kumar said HERC "has decided not to proceed further in the matter" till the Haryana government's October 26 directions issued under Section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003, remain operative. The government approached HERC after a strike by four unions of the state's energy department opposing the grant of licence to Eleven Power Private Limited (EPPL) triggered blackouts in Gurugram and other parts of Haryana. The three-day strike was called off on October 23 after the government gave assurances and later wrote to the power regulator, asking it to not "create, operationalise or effectuate any parallel distribution licence anywhere in the state." EPPL had requested for advance notice and an opportunity to be heard in any proceedings or matters concerning HERC's order granting it a power distribution licence for a period of 25 years. In Wednesday's order, HERC rejected the request, saying the government's directions had been issued in writing under the Electricity Act and applied generally across Haryana. It observed that no fresh adjudicatory exercise was required to give effect to the directions and that no pending dispute required the commission to determine the company's rights afresh. A spokesperson for EPPL said, "We will continue to engage with the HERC and the state government... We will pursue the remedies available to us under law." "We will continue to work with all stakeholders in the larger interest of consumers and the state," the spokesperson said. Officials said company had the option of challenging HERC's order before the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (ATEL). Haryana energy minister Anil Vij on Wednesday said he had told the department staff who went on strike that the government was ready to explore all options, including using its powers under Section 108 of the Electricity Act. "We used the same power to issue directions to HERC to override its order on parallel-distribution licence granted to a private firm which has been now complied. The Haryana government will always give priority to public interest on such issues," he added. Section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003 says: "In the discharge of its functions, the State Commission shall be guided by such directions in matters of policy involving public interest as the State government may give to it in writing. If any question arises as to whether any such direction relates to a matter of policy involving public interest, the decision of the State government thereon shall be final." While issuing directions to the HERC, the government had stated that it was "gravely concerned about the impact of the grant of a parallel licence on the consumers," and held that licence was granted "in complete deviation of the present policy." Ravinder Ghanghas, general secretary, Haryana Power Engineers' Association, said the unions welcomed the order. "Haryana's power sector is profit-making. It should not be privatised. Consumers are getting cheap electricity from state-owned discoms. Private players may keep the per unit rates low at the initial stage, but in the longer run, it will go higher as they will focus on profits," he added....