The introduction of electricity transformed life fundamentally. At first, a luxury good, electric light and power generation, both symbols of modernity, soon became a basic need everywhere in the world. The subject of electrification has fascinated business and economic historians along with scholars with an interest in technology: analysing strategies of manufacturing companies from different perspectives, the interaction between social and cultural factors and the process of electrification, the history of electrical technology, and many more aspects. But the literature mostly caters to the Global North. Alongside capital, land, and labour, energy – especially electricity – is the key input for contemporary capital accumulation. Poor quality power supply damages the industrial and commercial interests of the state and thus casts doubt on the extent of the state's ‘pro-business tilt’. Elizabeth Chatterjee rightly opines that the power sector provides a crucial lens on Indian political economy.

The harnessing of electricity has been considered one of the driving technologies behind modern capitalism and industrialization.