How low prices prevent India from supplying power 24x7 to all homes

The inability or refusal of state governments to increase power bills, as we explain later, has led to more borrowing and power shortages and made DISCOMs reluctant to buy available electricity

India mined more coal, built more power plants, and distribution companies connected millions of homes to the grid over four years to 2019. But those companies are now saddled with a record debt that hinders a key government promise.

“24x7 power” is the government’s priority, India’s new power minister Raj Kumar Singh said on May 30, 2019. His predecessor, Piyush Goyal, declared India “power surplus” two years ago, and a government dashboard says 99.99 per cent of rural homes--which account for nearly 7 in 10 Indian homes--now