Independent Energy Regulation in a Developing Economy

Sudha Mahalingam’s association with energy sector goes back three decades and straddles the entire spectrum of professional engagements – as regulator, academic, advisor, consultant, trainer of regulators and business journalist reporting on India’s rapidly transforming energy sector in the first decade of economic liberalization.  In 2022, she completed her three-year tenure as Dr.Raja Ramanna Chair Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore, where she taught regulatory economics to graduate students. She has been full-time member of India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, energy member of India’s National Security Advisory Board, Visiting Fellow at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, USA, member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Delft University in The Netherlands and a senior fellow at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. Sudha has published in peer-reviewed and scholarly journals,contributed chapters to books on energy, represented India in international conferences and lectured at prestigious institutions.  Sudha holds a doctorate in regulatory economics from University of Technology, Sydney, an M.Phil in applied economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and a Bachelor of Law from Delhi University. Kapilan Mahalingam is a doctoral student of economics at Penn State University, USA.  He is currently working on Industrial Organization which includes Regulatory Economics and focuses on identifying optimal incentives for renewable energy in India.  He also works on Information Theory and Big Data. His earlier work examined shared incentives for crowdfunding, land acquisition and pollution estimation. Kapilan has a Masters in Economics from Delhi School of Economics and undergraduate degree in economics from Delhi University.

Introduction.- Regulatory Legitimacy & Turf Wars.- Summary, Findings, Conclusions & Policy Implications.- Sanctity of Contracts & The Hold-up Problem.- Credible Commitments.- Theories of Regulation.- Market-making in Electric Supply.- Interpreting/Implying Terms into Contracts.