Electricity reform in Tamil Nadu faces many difficulties. One element of this is the problem of regulation. The anticipated behaviour of the regulator in the future constitutes one element of the negative environment which shapes the hesitation of the private sector to invest. In this paper, we bring knowledge from the field of regulatory theory, which has been developed in India over the last 20 years, to shed new light on the problems of electricity regulation in Tamil Nadu. Some of the problems identified here are rooted in the drafting of the Electricity Act, 2003, which cannot be changed by policymakers in Tamil Nadu. However many of the problems can be addressed using policy levers available to policymakers in Tamil Nadu.
Citation:
Improving electricity regulation in Tamil Nadu, Akshay Jaitly, Charmi Mehta, Rishika Ranga, Renuka Sane, Ajay Shah, Karthik Suresh, XKDR Forum Working Paper 37, February 2025.
