Many Sparks but Little Light: The Rhetoric and Practice of Electricity Sector Reforms in India
The year 1991 was an inflection point in the history of modern India. The country embarked upon wide-ranging economic reforms in what came to be known as the Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation or LPG era. The electricity sector — indeed, the entire energy sector — has seen multiple waves of reforms since then. It has been a quarter century since the beginning of the reforms and there are indications that a fresh wave of reforms are in the offing in the electricity sector. Over this period, Prayas (Energy Group) has keenly followed and participated in the reforms process as a proactive, independent organisation offering constructive critique and suggestions to further public interest.
Prayas (Energy Group) has authored a book born out of this unique engagement and understanding of the sector. The book critically examines many of these reforms and the impacts they have had, to understand if they achieved their expected objectives and if they helped in achieving the desirable socio-environmental outcomes. The in-depth analysis over eight chapters covers thermal, hydropower and renewable generation, electricity distribution, and associated fuel sectors of coal and natural gas. We hope that the book contributes to improve the design and implementation of further reforms, so that the sector overcomes its challenges in an equitable and sustainable manner.
The book is dedicated to Girish Sant, founder coordinator of Prayas (Energy Group), who continues to inspire our work.
The first attachment below is a preview of the book and contains a detailed table of contents, including list of figures, tables, and boxes. It also includes the foreword by Dr. E A S Sarma, former Secretary, Government of India, and the preface by the authors. The second attachment gives a bird’s eye overview of the major changes in the electricity and related sectors in the past two and half decades of reforms. Please write to us at energy@prayaspune.org for a copy of the book.
