India, Jan. 17 -- India's power sector is often showcased as a national success story. Installed capacity has crossed the 500 GW mark, renewable energy is expanding at scale, and the transmission network has evolved into one of the world's largest synchronised grids. These achievements are real and significant. Yet beneath this progress lies a persistent and often underplayed weakness: electricity distribution, which remains overwhelmingly a State-level responsibility.

Electricity is a Concurrent Subject under the Constitution. While the Centre frames policies, market rules, and national programmes, the actual delivery of electricity, ie, metering, billing, collection, and consumer service, is handled by state-owned distribution companie...