Uniterrupted power for farmers: Haryana to set up Agri discom

Gurgaon: Haryana is set to overhaul its electricity distribution system with the proposed creation of a third power utility — Haryana Agri Discom — aimed at ensuring uninterrupted electricity to farmers.Presenting the 2026–27 budget in the assembly on Monday, chief minister and finance minister Nayab Singh Saini announced the proposal for a separate agriculture-focused distribution company.Currently, power supply in the state is handled by two utilities — Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam — which cater to domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural users through 14,391 feeders. Between 2004–05 and 2014–15, the two companies released 1,89,978 tubewell connections, followed by 2,92,990 connections from 2015–16 to Dec 2025.The CM said the new entity would serve all 5,084 agricultural feeders and around 7.12 lakh farm consumers. "The objective is to ensure faster release of tubewell connections and reliable, uninterrupted power supply to farmers," Saini said, adding that the move would help improve the incomes of the farmers.Officials said the new discom will bring all agricultural feeders under a single system, allowing focused planning and grievance redressal. The utility is expected to reduce delays in new connections, speed up transformer replacement and improve emergency response in rural areas. "With a specialised workforce and dedicated infrastructure, services are likely to be faster than under the existing district-wise model," a senior official said.The initiative is also aimed at separating agricultural demand from domestic and industrial loads to create a more stable and efficient supply network for the state's rural economy.At present, farmers receive power at heavily subsidised rates. Those with metered tubewell connections pay 10 paise per unit, while the actual supply cost to agricultural consumers is about Rs 7.35 per unit. The state reimburses discoms roughly Rs 7.25 per unit to bridge the gap.For 2024–25, Haryana is estimated to pay around Rs 6,718 crore in subsidies to compensate the two utilities to cover the revenue loss arising from agricultural supply.The subsidy remains one of the largest components of the state's power sector expenditure, reflecting Haryana's long-standing policy of providing support to farmers through near-free electricity.