This presentation is based on two papers (written with Gautier Kohler and Laure Criqui respectively), which focus on energy transition in the context of the electricity reforms in Delhi. It looks at the deployment of clean energy and expansion of services in informal settlements and aims to understand how the interactions between technology, society and regulation promote or hinder the energy transition. The presentation focuses on the strategies, choices and transition paths for environmental and social issues that the private companies have followed in the last ten years since private participation in electricity distribution in Delhi. Our results show that both policies towards clean energy and expansion of services in informal settlements are driven by three main explanatory factors: (i) the material constraints of the concession zone, (ii) the social features of the zone and (iii) the corporate and governance management. Further, despite divergences, the three DISCOMs face a common set of issues which have been predominant in defining their intervention strategies: tensions around tariff increases and reduction of technical and commercial losses. These two priorities tend to emphasize the differentiated stakes and challenges in terms of energy transition in an emerging city, relegating issues of clean energy to the backseat compared to providing quality electricity to all. The methodology is based on qualitative interviews, perusal of legislations and information provided by the regulatory commission, and published reports by government agencies and NGOs.
Marie-Hélène Zérah is currently a Senior Researcher with the Institute of Research for Development (Paris). She has previously worked with the Water and Sanitation Program of the World Bank and has done extensive research in the area of water supply and sanitation as well as on the shifts in urban governance in India. Her recent interests centre around the process of urbanisation with a focus on small towns and urban energy governance. Marie – Hélène has a Ph.D. in Urban Studies from the Paris Institute of Urban Studies. Laure Criqui is a doctoral Student at the University of Paris Est-Marne La Vallée. Her dissertation focuses on the expansion of water, sanitation and electricity services in Delhi and Lima. Gautier Kohler works for the French Agency for Development (AfD) and is based in Delhi.
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This is the forty fifth in a series of Urban Workshops planned by the Centre de Sciences Humaines (CSH), New Delhi and Centre for Policy Research (CPR). These workshops seek to provoke public discussion on issues relating to the development of the city and try to address all its facets including its administration, culture, economy, society and politics. For further information, please contact: Jayani Bonnerjee atjayani.bonnerjee@csh-delhi.com, Marie-Hélène Zerah at marie-helene.zerah@ird.fr or Partha Mukhopadhyay at partha@cprindia.org
