Spatial Dynamics of Electricity Usage in India

Ghani, Ejaz ; Goswami, Arti Grover ; Kerr, William R.

World Bank Group, Washington, DC

关键词: ABUNDANT ENERGY;    ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY;    AGGREGATE LEVEL;    ALUMINUM;    APPROACH;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-7055
RP-ID  :  WPS7055

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

India's manufacturing sector hasundergone many spatial adjustments since 1989, including,for example, the organized sector's migration to rurallocations, the powerful rise of informal manufacturingwithin cities, and the development of intermediate citiesfor manufacturing. This paper investigates the impact ofthese spatial adjustments for electricity usage in India smanufacturing sector. Striking spatial differences in energyusage exist, and whether spatial adjustments exacerbate oralleviate energy consumption strains is important for issuesranging from reducing India's power blackouts tostemming rising pollution levels. Using detailed surveys forthe organized and unorganized sectors, the analysis findsthat electricity usage per unit of output in urban plantsdeclined steadily during 1989-2010. In the rural areas, bycontrast, electricity consumption per unit of output fororganized sector plants peaked in 2000 and thereafterdeclined. Decomposing the observed trends in aggregateelectricity usage from 2000 onwards, the paper finds thatmost reductions in electricity usage per unit of output camefrom reductions in existing sites of activity (definedthrough state-industry-urban/rural cells). The secondbiggest factor leading to reduced usage was lower usage infast-growing sectors. By contrast, spatial movements ofmanufacturing activity across India did not significantlychange usage levels and may have even increased them. Thisappears to have been in part because of the split nature ofthe mobility, with organized and unorganized sectorsmigrating in opposite directions.