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One price doesn't fit all: An examination of heterogeneity in price elasticity of residential electricity in India

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  • Chindarkar, Namrata
  • Goyal, Nihit

Abstract

Although well-designed consumer electricity pricing can improve access, contribute to higher metering, increase penetration of energy efficient technologies, limit extent of the rebound effect, and influence viability of electricity distribution utilities in India, there has been no comprehensive, policy-relevant assessment of price elasticities of electricity demand in the country. The objective of this study is to estimate price elasticity of residential electricity consumption and disaggregate it by state, rural and urban residence, and income categories to provide evidence for electricity tariff setting in India. We combine survey data from five rounds of nationally-representative household consumption expenditure surveys covering the period 2005–2012 with administrative data on electricity deficit and improve on methods applied in previous studies by estimating price elasticities using a quadratic form to account for constraints in electricity supply. We find that while the average price elasticity at the national level is −0.39 (95% confidence interval: −0.46, −0.31), it varies significantly by state, rural and urban residence, and income categories. Our results indicate that a “one ‘price’ fits all” policy may not be an effective approach to electricity tariff setting in India and a data-driven understanding of heterogeneities in price elasticities can better inform residential electricity tariff design in the country.

Suggested Citation

  • Chindarkar, Namrata & Goyal, Nihit, 2019. "One price doesn't fit all: An examination of heterogeneity in price elasticity of residential electricity in India," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 765-778.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:81:y:2019:i:c:p:765-778
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2019.05.021
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sedai, Ashish Kumar & Nepal, Rabindra & Jamasb, Tooraj, 2021. "Flickering lifelines: Electrification and household welfare in India," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    2. Sedai, Ashish Kumar & Jamasb, Tooraj & Nepal, Rabindra & Miller, Ray, 2021. "Electrification and welfare for the marginalized: Evidence from India," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    3. Bajo-Buenestado, Raúl, 2021. "The effect of blackouts on household electrification status: Evidence from Kenya," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    4. Jerzy Andruszkiewicz & Józef Lorenc & Agnieszka Weychan, 2019. "Demand Price Elasticity of Residential Electricity Consumers with Zonal Tariff Settlement Based on Their Load Profiles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-22, November.
    5. Javier Bueno & Desiderio Romero-Jordán & Pablo del Río, 2020. "Analysing the Drivers of Electricity Demand in Spain after the Economic Crisis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-18, October.
    6. Sedai, Ashish Kumar & Vasudevan, Ramaa & Pena, Anita Alves & Miller, Ray, 2021. "Does reliable electrification reduce gender differences? Evidence from India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 580-601.
    7. Balarama, Hemawathy & Islam, Asad & Kim, Jun Sung & Wang, Liang Choon, 2020. "Price elasticities of residential electricity demand: Estimates from household panel data in Bangladesh," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    8. Nihit Goyal, 2021. "Limited Demand or Unreliable Supply? A Bibliometric Review and Computational Text Analysis of Research on Energy Policy in India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-23, December.
    9. Sania Malik, 2021. "Residential Electricity Consumers and Increasing Block Pricing Policy in Pakistan: Evidence Based on Household Level Primary Data," Journal of Economic Impact, Science Impact Publishers, vol. 3(2), pages 80-87.
    10. Chindarkar, Namrata & Goyal, Nihit, 2023. "Did it increase energy consumption? A difference-in-differences evaluation of a rural electrification policy in Gujarat, India using night-time lights data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    11. Tran, Nhan Dang & Sahu, Naresh Chandra, 2023. "Asymmetric price response of industrial electricity demand in India," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Price elasticity; Residential electricity demand; Household electricity consumption; Electricity tariff regulation; Survey data; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C01 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - General - - - Econometrics
    • C55 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Large Data Sets: Modeling and Analysis
    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand

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