Red marks in green power plans amid lack of reform in electricity pricing

The lack of market reform in electricity pricing has limited states' ability to expand capital expenditure on the critical transition to clean energy

There is a good reason why Union Power Min­ister R K Singh recently asked states to set up steering committees at the level of chief secretaries to plan for energy transition. Except for subsidies to keep the power distribution companies running at a loss, few states have money or plans for this critical sector.

To be sure, capital expenditure among states is rising fast after a long hiatus, but it is not rising in energy or more specifically in the power sector (see table 1). This lack of enthusiasm at the state level is worrying since the demand for energy is