Last week, Haryana’s power regulator approved the entry of a private electricity distributor in Gurugram and Nuh districts, in a move that was expected to give greater choice to consumers. On Wednesday, however, it decided “not to proceed further” with rolling out a parallel distribution licence to Eleven Power Pvt. Ltd.

The decision, taken on the directions of the Haryana government, came after opposition from both of Haryana’s state-owned power distribution companies (or discoms), which raised concerns about the potential impact of parallel licensing on their finances.

What is notable is that the decision comes at a time when the Union government, also led by the BJP, is pushing for a framework that allows multiple electricity distribution licensees to operate in the same area.

According to the Centre, this will expand consumer choice, improve service quality and enable more efficient use of distribution infrastructure.…