The Performance of Indian Power Sector for Pre and Post-Reforms Period

This paper analyses pre and post-reform performance of Indian power sector. The averages of the physical indicators of two periods have been compared and tested for differences if any, using independent t test. We find that average consumption rate of electricity used for agricultural, domestic and commercial purposes have improved. However, the electricity used for industrial sector has shown a declining trend during the reform period. Other important findings emerge from the study are: average transmission and distribution losses increased during the reform period much faster than the pre-reform period; the energy generation mix remains dominated by thermal power; the share of private sector into total power generation capacity has improved marginally by 2.5 per cent; the share of hydro power has declined from 29.50 to 16.52 per cent; and energy generation by nuclear source remains the same during the reform period.