Does marginal cost pricing of electricity affect the groundwater pumping behaviour of farmers? Evidence from India

This evaluation by JV Meenakshi, Abhijit Banerji, Aditi Mukherji and Anubhab Gupta studies the impact of metering electric tube wells in the state of West Bengal in India. The study assesses the impact of changes in electricity pricing from flat to metered tariff on the irrigation practices of tube well owners, as well as the sale of water to other farmers. The study finds that, while metering tube wells reduced the number of pumping hours in the winter season and shrank the water market, it did not influence either the cropping patterns or the yield of the crop, boro paddy.