Articles by Navroz K Dubash

Indian debates over electricity have been strongly influenced by international experiences. This paper provides a critical overview of recent global debates on electricity restructuring. The paper first discusses the electricity price trajectories in countries that are often cited as models of reform. It then discusses several challenges to creating competitive markets in electricity. The final two sections relate international experience to the Indian context. The authors find that the full model of organised electricity markets will be extremely challenging to implement in India, and suggest a more pragmatic "no-regrets" approach. Suitably designed, competition may be one element in this approach but it is not a short-cut to larger reforms.

Power sector policy in India appears to have locked itself into adverse arrangements at least twice in the recent period. The first was when agricultural consumption was de-metered and extensive subsidies were offered; the second when Independent Power Producer contracts with major fiscal implications were signed by the State Electricity Boards. A third set of circumstances, with the potential for equally powerful forms of institutional lock-in, appears to be in the making with the reproduction of the Orissa model on the national scale. This paper provides an analysis of the social and political context in which power sector reforms have taken place in India. While a state-led power sector has been responsible for substantial failures, is the design of the reformed sector well aimed at balancing efficiency and profit-making on the one hand and the public interest on the other? The discussion of the forces and actors that have shaped the reform processes is intended to contribute to an understanding of how the public interest can best be served in the ongoing effort to reshape the power sector.