The 2003 Indian Electricity Act incentivizes captive power production through open access in an attempt to harness all sources of generation. Yet, we observe that only some firms self-generate while others do not. In this paper we give a transaction cost explanation for such divergent behavior....

In developing countries, industries are often plagued with power shortages. In response, some firms make their own electric power but most of the others do not. Why do we observe such divergent behavior in the decision to self-generate? Previous literature focuses on factor demand and marginal...