Trials and tribulations: Lost energy access gains in rural India.

Rural electrification has advanced rapidly in many developing countries. Under conditions of poverty and weak infrastructure, however, households face a risk of backsliding. We use two rounds from the ACCESS survey of rural households in six northern Indian states to explore factors that drive losses in household electricity access. About 7% of households with electricity in 2015 lost it by 2018. We identify household wealth and off-grid access as major drivers of lost energy access. A standard deviation's increase in a household's wealth index reduces the likelihood of disconnection by 1.5 percentage points. Off-grid households are 8 percentage points more likely to lose access than grid-connected households. These findings underscore the importance of defending realized gains in countries where household electrification is driven by policy while rural poverty remains prevalent. • This study analyzes the predictors of loss of access to electricity. • We rely on a representative survey panel data of more than 8000 households in India. • We find that households with lower income and formal education levels are more likely to lose access to electricity. • Infrastructure and geographic factors do not predict loss of access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]