A new study by the Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) at the University of Chicago establishes that consumers do not pay for electric utilities in full as they treat electricity as a right rather than a commodity to be bought and sold.

The study conducted in rural Bihar found that the link between electricity supply and payments was broken. Customers on average received about 17 hours of electricity a day, and many paid less than 20 per cent of their share. Areas that paid more did not necessarily get more power. In 2017, customers received on average about 17 hours of electricity a day. Some areas paid their full share, while many more paid a share of less than 20 per cent and the average paid only 38 percent. The most prominent impact of this trend is that there are widespread outages and rationing of power. The study also shows that theft is not restricted to the poor, but it is the larger consumers who account for most of the losses….