When the Electricity Act of 2003 replaced the earlier law of 1948, the planners of the Central government would not have anticipated the possible fallout in Kahalgaon. Earlier, electricity was considered to be an essential lubricant for development and industrialisation. Today, its tariff is determined by principles of demand and supply. However, unlike the history of many developed countries in their formative years, a kind of economic fundamentalism is operating in India in the name of correcting market distortions. Thus, electricity is available in the peak hours at premium prices. In the backdrop of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, to which Bihar is a signatory, controlling the deficit is the key agenda and purchasing electricity with a premium price tag in peak hours tantamounts to financial imprudence.

Any fundamentalism is bad, religious or economic, because it destabilises both social cohesion and the developmental agenda. The recent agitation in Kahalgaon against the non-supply of electricity from the NTPC plant to the local area, was possibly one of the first mass revolts related to power deprivation. The incident could have a domino effect, unless the present Electricity Act is repealed and the Central government brings about a change in its energy distribution policy.

The immediate cause of the consumer cataclysm in Kahalgaon in district Bhagalpur was the near power famine in the surrounding areas for months. Even though the power from the plant lit up the large cities, its immediate surroundings were engulfed in darkness. This sense of deprivation got aggravated in the cold nights in winter.

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