In India’s Parched Heart, High Power Costs Put Cooling Out of Reach

A small portable cooler at a shop on the outskirts of Nagpur. Photographer: Atul Loke/Bloomberg 632010

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(Bloomberg) — In the dusty heart of India, even the power equipment needs help to get through the peak of the summer.

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Outside Nagpur, one of the hottest cities in the world, engineers regularly check transformers that have been fitted with multiple giant coolers, and substations supported by fans. On this May morning, still weeks from the monsoon, the news is good. Thanks to the new kit, the grid continues to cope with high seasonal demand and average temperatures that exceed 40C (104F), even during a historic energy crisis that has left many fearing widespread outages.

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The catch, for millions of households here and in surrounding areas, is that this resilience comes at a cost — one that they cannot afford.

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Take the working class neighborhood of Sudam Nagari. Past 10 p.m. on a regular weekday evening, the main thoroughfare lined with makeshift homes is buzzing with activity. Unable to stay inside their sweltering dwellings for long, residents are sitting on the pavement chatting, scrolling through their phones or watching children playing hide-and-seek.

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Anuradha Shravan Kavle, a 40-year-old who works as a housemaid, is one of few still hurrying through her last kitchen chores indoors, under the dim light of an LED lamp. The temperature inside the cramped room is stifling, the May heat trapped inside sun-baked, corrugated iron walls. Her cooler sits in the corner — unplugged.

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“Electricity is too expensive. We have to use it only sparingly,” said Kavle, pointing to a power bill for April that shows she paid 1,960 rupees, or more than $20, for 188 units (kilowatt hours) of consumption.

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That’s at least 10% of the family’s income, which varies month to month, stretching her budget along with other rising costs to the point that she ignores any illnesses to avoid doctors’ fees. Her son and daughter work part-time to cover their own tuition. 

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Maharashtra, the state that includes Nagpur, has some of the costliest power in the country — partly as a result of its large industrial base and partly because of the funds needed to keep a vast grid functioning. Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co., the power supplier, reported an 85% year-on-year increase in capital expenditure for the 12 months through March 2026 to 234.5 billion rupees ($2.4 billion), because of investment in the supply network, according to a regulatory order granting approval.

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At more than 10 rupees a unit, Kavle’s bill is nearly 50% more than the average per unit revenue earned by electricity retailers in the year through March 2025. It’s also the maximum price allowed for most power sales on India’s exchanges.  

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For her family and many others on the street, the immediate consequence is the need for long periods spent outside the house to keep charges down, and limited sleep before they have to rise again for work the next morning.

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“On some days, I feel sick and I think I can’t go to work, but that’s not an option,” she said. “I can’t spend an entire day in the heat of this house.”