The vertically integrated monolithic structure of the erstwhile Haryana State Electricity Board (HSEB) was done away with its unbundling on the 14th of August, 1998. The HSEB on that day was unbundled into two entities namely Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL) for the carrying on with the Generation business and Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL) for Transmission & Bulk Supply as well as for Distribution & Retail Supply Business in the state of Haryana. The HVPNL was granted provisional Licences to carry on with the assigned business for the first 6 months during which the newly established Regulatory Commission was expected to issue Regular Licences.
After inviting public objections and holdings public hearings, the HVPNL was granted the following Licenses in the month of February, 1999:
These Licences set out the Terms & Conditions under which the HVPNL (the Licencee) was expected to function and provide service to the Consumers. And thus was set the ground for ensuring an efficient, co-ordinated and economical system of electricity supply to the consumers in the state of Haryana.
The licences are valid for a period of 30 years extendable by another 20 years. Provision was, however, made in the Distribution & Retail supply Licence that the period of Licence may be reduced and the area of his supply may be modified/curtailed so as to introduce competition and privatisation as envisaged in the Haryana Electricity Reforms Act.
Some of the important provisions incorporated in the Licenses are:
The licencee shall maintain accounts and records in the manner to be prescribed by the Commission and to the satisfaction of the Commission.
The licencee shall be prohibited from showing discrimination and undue preference to any category of consumers.
The licencee shall obtain clearance from the Commission with regard to disposal of its assets and high value investments.
The Licences enumerate the conditions under which the licences can be revoked.
The Distribution and Retail Supply licencee is obliged to comply with the Grid Code., Distribution Code, Distribution System Planning and Security Standards, Operating Standards, Overall Performance Standards and Standards of Performance etc. as approved by the Commission.
The Bulk supply and Transmission licencee is obliged to observe these codes as well as certain provisions regarding scheduling and dispatch.
The Retail Supply licencee is required to maintain mandatory standards of consumption/ service in the matter of payment of bills, complaint handling procedures and consumers rights.
The licencee is obliged to charge tariff only at the rate approved by the HERC.
The licence outlines an elaborate system of monitoring so as to ensure safe and uninterrupted electricity supply in the most economical manner.
On 12/04/1999, the HVPNL filed another application to permit the business of distribution & retail supply to be carried out by two newly established entities namely Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) as their subsidiaries in their respective areas. The said permission was granted by the Commission vide its order dated 21.4.1999, to HVPNL for holding the Distribution undertakings and to carry on the distribution and retail supply business pertaining to the North Area comprising operation circles of Ambala, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Karnal, Sonepat, Rohtak and Jind through and in the name of Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd. and pertaining to the South Area comprising operation circles of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Narnaul, Bhiwani, Hisar and Sirsa through and in the name of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd.
The Commission vide its order dated 4.11.2004 have accepted the surrender of Distribution and Retail Supply licence granted to HVPNL and granted the following two separate independent licences to UHBVNL & DHBVNL.
