Quantifying Electricity Reliability Gap: Intra‐Regional Household Inequalities and Consumer Purchase Intentions

Understanding availability versus equity in electricity access, and demographic perspectives in consumer purchase decisions is our primary motivation. An access‐based index of electricity reliability gap (ERG) is constructed at rural–urban levels in each district to quantify the intensity of supply‐side energy access poverty among Indian households. The average ERG between rural and urban households has reduced over the years. Estimates of ERG at regional levels shed light on the need for decentralised electricity in remote locations. The extent of power availability and the moderating effect of ERG, along with populational dimensions, on willingness towards consumer durable purchase decisions for major home appliances, brown goods, and climate control appliances, are explored using panel logistic models and validated using Propensity Score Matching. Increased power availability stimulates household willingness to buy consumer durables while higher electricity expenses demotivate the purchase decision. Education was a vital factor in computer purchases. Efforts to improve power availability can be particularly beneficial for households with significant reliability gaps, potentially driving higher consumer spending on durable goods in the region. The findings reveal that electricity infrastructure planning targeting regions with high within‐region inequality can unlock appliance adoption among the most underserved, especially for utility‐linked appliances like refrigerators and computers.