Regulatory Reforms and Technology Adoption in the Indian Electricity Distribution Sector : An Interplay of Actors, Institutions, Governance Structure and Technology

This study analyzes the interrelationships between regulation and technology adoption using the new institutional economics perspective. It examines the role of independent electricity regulatory commissions in promoting adoption of loss reduction technologies (LRTs) in the Indian electricity distribution systems. It adopts ‘electricity-distribution related transactions’ as the unit of analysis and further elaborate its physical and social dimensions. It analyzes the characteristics of these transactions and implications of existing institutional endowments in determining effectiveness of the regulatory framework particularly, for technology adoption, through a detailed case study of regulatory processes in the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP)