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The Competitive Effects of Transmission Infrastructure in the Indian Electricity Market

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  • Nicholas Ryan

Abstract

India, seeking to reduce electricity shortages, set up a new power market, in which transmission constraints sharply limit trade between regions. I use confidential bidding data to estimate the costs of power supply and simulate market outcomes with more transmission capacity. I find that the returns to building transmission hinge on market conduct. Under a competitive model of supply, transmission investments roughly breakeven. Under a strategic model, the same transmission expansion increases market surplus by 19 percent, enough to justify the investment, because low-cost sellers increase supply in response to a more integrated grid.

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  • Nicholas Ryan, 2017. "The Competitive Effects of Transmission Infrastructure in the Indian Electricity Market," NBER Working Papers 23106, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23106
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    Cited by:

    1. Kennedy, Ryan & Mahajan, Aseem & Urpelainen, Johannes, 2019. "Quality of service predicts willingness to pay for household electricity connections in rural India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 319-326.
    2. Heesun Jang, 2020. "Market Impacts of a Transmission Investment: Evidence from the ERCOT Competitive Renewable Energy Zones Project," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Brehm, Paul A. & Zhang, Yiyuan, 2021. "The efficiency and environmental impacts of market organization: Evidence from the Texas electricity market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    4. Erik P. Johnson & Juan Moreno-Cruz, 2020. "Congestion in the Electricity Transmission System Redistributes Pollution across Long Distances," CESifo Working Paper Series 8483, CESifo.
    5. R. Andrew Butters & Daniel F. Spulber, 2020. "The Extent Of The Market And Integration Through Factor Markets: Evidence From Wholesale Electricity," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 58(3), pages 1076-1108, July.
    6. Nicholas Ryan, 2020. "Contract Enforcement and Productive Efficiency: Evidence From the Bidding and Renegotiation of Power Contracts in India," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(2), pages 383-424, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products

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