IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v158y2021ics0301421521004304.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of institutional reforms on the performance of distribution utilities in India – A dynamic panel data analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Kathuria, Vinish

Abstract

The Indian power sector has seen significant institutional changes in the last two decades. After more than 20 years of reforms, the distribution segment is still incurring losses. To quantify these institutional changes, we construct a reform index and then employ data of 55 power utilities from 29 Indian states for 2007–08 to 2015–16 to see the impact of this index on their financial and technical-cum-commercial performance. This paper contributes to the literature in three ways: a) accounting for the maturity of the reforms while calculating the index, b) relying on the dynamic nature of the reforms, and c) carrying out the analysis at the utility level. We find that once the dynamic nature of the data is accounted for and utility-specific variables are controlled, the reform index influences both the financial and the technical-cum-commercial performance of the utilities. An important policy implication of the present study is that as long as the cost-reflective tariff is still prevalent, the commercial viability of utilities cannot be assured.

Suggested Citation

  • Kathuria, Vinish, 2021. "Impact of institutional reforms on the performance of distribution utilities in India – A dynamic panel data analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:158:y:2021:i:c:s0301421521004304
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112560
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421521004304
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112560?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nagayama, Hiroaki, 2007. "Effects of regulatory reforms in the electricity supply industry on electricity prices in developing countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 3440-3462, June.
    2. Hattori, Toru & Tsutsui, Miki, 2004. "Economic impact of regulatory reforms in the electricity supply industry: a panel data analysis for OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 823-832, April.
    3. Nagayama, Hiroaki, 2009. "Electric power sector reform liberalization models and electric power prices in developing countries: An empirical analysis using international panel data," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 463-472, May.
    4. Srivastava, Govind & Kathuria, Vinish, 2020. "Impact of corporate governance norms on the performance of Indian utilities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    5. Bensch, Gunther, 2019. "The effects of market-based reforms on access to electricity in developing countries: a systematic review," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 11(2), pages 165-188.
    6. Nepal, Rabindra & Jamasb, Tooraj, 2012. "Reforming the power sector in transition: Do institutions matter?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 1675-1682.
    7. Yin-Fang Zhang & David Parker & Colin Kirkpatrick, 2008. "Electricity sector reform in developing countries: an econometric assessment of the effects of privatization, competition and regulation," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 159-178, April.
    8. Tooraj Jamasb & Manuel Llorca & Pavan Khetrapal & Tripta Thakur, 2018. "Institutions and Performance of Regulated Firms: Evidence from Electric Utilities in the Indian States," Working Papers EPRG 1809, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    9. Anupama Sen and Tooraj Jamasb, 2012. "Diversity in Unity: An Empirical Analysis of Electricity Deregulation in Indian States," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1).
    10. Dubash, Navroz K. & Rao, D. Narasimha, 2008. "Regulatory practice and politics: Lessons from independent regulation in Indian electricity," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 321-331, December.
    11. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    12. Richard Blundell & Stephen Bond, 2000. "GMM Estimation with persistent panel data: an application to production functions," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 321-340.
    13. Stephen R. Bond, 2002. "Dynamic panel data models: a guide to micro data methods and practice," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 1(2), pages 141-162, August.
    14. Kathuria, Vinish & Ray, Pradeep & Bhangaonkar, Rekha, 2015. "FDI (foreign direct investment) in wind energy sector in India: Testing the effectiveness of state policies using panel data," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 190-202.
    15. Kundu, Goutam Kumar & Mishra, Bidhu Bhusan, 2011. "Impact of reform and privatization on consumers: A case study of power sector reform in Orissa, India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 3537-3549, June.
    16. Singh, Anoop, 2006. "Power sector reform in India: current issues and prospects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(16), pages 2480-2490, November.
    17. John Cubbin & Jon Stern, 2006. "The Impact of Regulatory Governance and Privatization on Electricity Industry Generation Capacity in Developing Economies," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 20(1), pages 115-141.
    18. Vivien Foster & Anshul Rana, 2020. "Rethinking Power Sector Reform in the Developing World [Repenser la réforme du secteur de l’électricité dans les pays en développement]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 32335.
    19. Lee,Alan David & Usman,Zainab, 2018. "Taking stock of the political economy of power sector reforms in developing countries : a literature review," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8518, The World Bank.
    20. Ghosh, Ranjan & Kathuria, Vinish, 2014. "The transaction costs driving captive power generation: Evidence from India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 179-188.
    21. Sheoli Pargal & Kristy Mayer, 2014. "Governance of Indian State Power Utilities : An Ongoing Journey," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 20397.
    22. Seema Saxena & Tripta Thakur, 2011. "Performance evaluation of Indian electrical distribution utilities in the post Electricity Act 2003 era," International Journal of Engineering Management and Economics, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(4), pages 281-292.
    23. Sheoli Pargal & Sudeshna Ghosh Banerjee, 2014. "More Power to India : The Challenge of Electricity Distribution," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 18726.
    24. Independent Evaluation Group, 2016. "Financial Viability of the Electricity Sector in Developing Countries," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 25174.
    25. Foster,Vivien & Witte,Samantha Helen & Banerjee,Sudeshna Ghosh & Vega Moreno,Alejandro & Foster,Vivien & Witte,Samantha Helen & Banerjee,Sudeshna Ghosh & Vega Moreno,Alejandro, 2017. "Charting the diffusion of power sector reforms across the developing world," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8235, The World Bank.
    26. Ghosh, Ranjan & Kathuria, Vinish, 2016. "The effect of regulatory governance on efficiency of thermal power generation in India: A stochastic frontier analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 11-24.
    27. Jamasb,Tooraj & Nepal,Rabindra & Timilsina,Govinda R., 2015. "A quarter century effort yet to come of age : a survey of power sector reforms in developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7330, The World Bank.
    28. Faye Steiner, 2000. "Regulation, Industry Structure and Performance in the Electricity Supply Industry," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 238, OECD Publishing.
    29. Sudhir Mahadeo Bobde & Makoto Tanaka, 2020. "Structural Reforms and Technical Efficiency in the Indian Electricity Distribution Sector," Asia-Pacific Journal of Operational Research (APJOR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 37(02), pages 1-36, March.
    30. Windmeijer, Frank, 2005. "A finite sample correction for the variance of linear efficient two-step GMM estimators," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 126(1), pages 25-51, May.
    31. Srivastava, Govind & Kathuria, Vinish, 2014. "Utility reforms in developing countries: Learning from the experiences of Delhi," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 1-16.
    32. Stephen Bond, 2002. "Dynamic panel data models: a guide to microdata methods and practice," CeMMAP working papers CWP09/02, Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nepal, Rabindra & Phoumin, Han & Musibau, Hammed & Jamasb, Tooraj, 2022. "The socio-economic impacts of energy policy reform through the lens of the power sector – Does cross-sectional dependence matter?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    2. Adwoa Asantewaa & Tooraj Jamasb & Manuel Llorca, 2022. "Electricity Sector Reform Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Parametric Distance Function Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-29, March.
    3. Tooraj Jamasb & Rabindra Nepal & Govinda Timilsina & Michael Toman, 2014. "Energy Sector Reform, Economic Efficiency and Poverty Reduction," Discussion Papers Series 529, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    4. Ahmed, Tauqir & Bhatti, Arshad Ali, 2019. "Do power sector reforms affect electricity prices in selected Asian countries?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 1253-1260.
    5. Jamasb,Tooraj & Nepal,Rabindra & Timilsina,Govinda R., 2015. "A quarter century effort yet to come of age : a survey of power sector reforms in developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7330, The World Bank.
    6. Tooraj Jamasb & Rabindra Nepal & Govinda R. Timilsina, 2017. "A Quarter Century Effort Yet to Come of Age: A Survey of Electricity Sector Reform in Developing Countries," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).
    7. Srivastava, Govind & Kathuria, Vinish, 2020. "Impact of corporate governance norms on the performance of Indian utilities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    8. Bhatt, Brijesh & Singh, Anoop, 2021. "Power sector reforms and technology adoption in the Indian electricity distribution sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(PA).
    9. Bensch, Gunther, 2019. "The effects of market-based reforms on access to electricity in developing countries: a systematic review," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 11(2), pages 165-188.
    10. Erdogdu, Erkan, 2013. "Essays on Electricity Market Reforms: A Cross-Country Applied Approach," MPRA Paper 47139, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Jain, Ritika & Nandan, Amit, 2019. "Effect of Electricity Act on tariff gap within the subsidizing sector: The case of India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 901-914.
    12. Sudhir Mahadeo Bobde & Makoto Tanaka, 2020. "Structural Reforms and Technical Efficiency in the Indian Electricity Distribution Sector," Asia-Pacific Journal of Operational Research (APJOR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 37(02), pages 1-36, March.
    13. Imam, M. & Jamasb, T. & Llorca, M. & Llorca, M., 2018. "Power Sector Reform and Corruption: Evidence from Electricity Industry in Sub-Saharan Africa," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1801, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    14. Abonazel, Mohamed R., 2016. "Bias Correction Methods for Dynamic Panel Data Models with Fixed Effects," MPRA Paper 70628, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Caggese, Andrea, 2007. "Testing financing constraints on firm investment using variable capital," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(3), pages 683-723, December.
    16. Erkan Erdogdu, 2014. "The Political Economy of Electricity Market Liberalization: A Cross-country Approach," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).
    17. Junhua Li & Wenli Cheng, 2015. "Country Size, Economic Structure and Transaction Efficiency: An Asymmetric Spatial General Equilibrium Model of Income Differences across Nations," Monash Economics Working Papers 17-15, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    18. Yongfu Huang, 2011. "Private investment and financial development in a globalized world," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 43-56, August.
    19. Schober, Dominik, 2013. "Static vs. dynamic impacts of unbundling: Electricity markets in South America," ZEW Discussion Papers 13-033, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    20. Brülhart, Marius & Mathys, Nicole A., 2008. "Sectoral agglomeration economies in a panel of European regions," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 348-362, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Reforms; Unbundling; Price-cost margin; AT&C losses; Dynamic panel data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • O25 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Industrial Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:158:y:2021:i:c:s0301421521004304. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.