Résumé

From the great economic reforms of 1991 to the financial crisis of 2008, India has witnessed a major economic and urban development. This country has required a significant growth of its energy and in particular of electricity, since industry and affluent classes were increasing their consumption. But so were the popular classes, both in the countryside and in cities. This resulted in electricity theft on a massive scale, crippling seriously investment in the sector. A law voted in 2003, while bringing new structures and more regulation to the electrical industry, tried to curb this phenomenon. Actually, it did not succeed. The companies tried to implement some measures of their own, but to no avail. With the case of Mumbai, we will try to understand why regulation has been powerless in limiting energy theft in the slums.