Amidst a general increase in household electricity access across the world, some vulnerable communities stand at risk of being left behind. As a result, electricity inequality can be increasing even in countries in which access improves on average. We explore this question in the context of Jharkhand, India, which is characterized by its large tribal populations. Using new household survey data, we document two findings. First, tribal households are much more likely to suffer from poor electricity access. Electrification rates are about 11 percentage points lower than the general population (adjusting for a range of confounding factors) (95% CI: [-21, −1]). Likewise, tribal households own fewer appliances than their general population counterpart: the capacity of their appliances is 168 W smaller (95% CI: [-42, −295]) than that of the general population. Second, aggressive public policy can reduce electricity inequality. We show that tribal households were much more likely to be targeted by Saubhagya, a government electrification scheme, than the rest of the population, with estimates ranging from 11 (95% CI: [-2; 23]) to 22 percent (95% CI: [12; 32]). Public policy could thus, under favorable conditions and when designed appropriately, be an effective tool to combat energy inequality.

随着全球家庭电力供应普遍增加，一些脆弱社区面临被抛在后面的风险。因此，即使在平均接入情况有所改善的国家，电力不平等也可能会加剧。我们在印度贾坎德邦的背景下探讨这个问题，该地区的特点是拥有庞大的部落人口。使用新的住户调查数据，我们记录了两个发现。首先，部落家庭更有可能遭受电力供应不足的困扰。电气化率比一般人群低约 11 个百分点（针对一系列混杂因素进行调整）（95% CI：[-21，-1]）。同样，部落家庭拥有的电器比普通人群少：他们的电器容量小 168 W（95% CI：[-42, −295]) 高于一般人群。其次，积极的公共政策可以减少电力不平等。我们表明，与其他人口相比，部落家庭更有可能成为政府电气化计划 Saubhagya 的目标，估计范围从 11 (95% CI: [-2; 23]) 到 22% (95% CI: [12; 32])。因此，在有利条件下，如果设计得当，公共政策可以成为消除能源不平等的有效工具。