Privatisation Policy and Power Sector Reforms : Lessons from British Experience for India

Privatisation of public sector enterprises becomes a n important policy issue in the context of the current liberalisation and deregulation of the industrial sectors in India. Already some initiatives on divestment in public sector enterprises have been taken by the Indian government. The key issues revolve around the degree of restructuring the state enterprises or industries to be privatised, the speed and timing of such restructuring and the niethods used for transfer of ownership from public sector to private sector. This paper examines the lessons of the British privatisation progranime for India since reform of the energy sector is a key economic objective in India. The discussion focuses on privatisation of electricity supply industry a key sector in economic development in India. Privatisation of British Electricity Supply Industry was preceded by radical changes in the industry structure and restructuring of the firm-ls int the industry and was accompanied by a tight regulatory framework intended to promote efficiency and competition