BillingR1[66].pdf (1.59 MB)
Understanding electricity billing preferences in rural and urban India: evidence from a conjoint experiment
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-10, 05:48 authored by Jason Chun Yu Wong, Brian Blankenship, Johannes Urpelainen, Kanika BalaniKanika Balani, Karthik Ganesan, Kapardhi BharadwajTo address issues of non-payment, high costs, and theft, paying a fixed fee for electricity is common among many developing countries. We use a conjoint experiment to study electricity billing preferences among urban and rural communities in Uttar Pradesh, India. We find that 59.5% of respondents (95% CI: 58.2%–60.9%) prefer consumption-based tariffs as opposed to fixed fee ones, favoring lower base charges among a number of factors. We additionally use Bayesian Additive Regression Trees to test for heterogeneous treatment effects. Respondents with more appliances, using more hours of electricity, and who live in rural areas with meters prefer consumption-based plans with lower base rates. Our results suggest that policy reforms should move beyond fixed rate schemes especially if respondents would accept higher unit tariffs with improved service.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Energy EconomicsISSN
0140-9883Publisher
ElsevierExternal DOI
Volume
106Page range
a105735 1-12Department affiliated with
- SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2023-01-04First Open Access (FOA) Date
2023-02-15First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2023-02-15Usage metrics
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