India's power distribution companies (DISCOMs) have achieved a historic financial turnaround, collectively posting a profit of ₹2,701 crore in fiscal year 2024-25. This marks a significant recovery after years of substantial losses, with previous years recording deficits of ₹25,553 crore in FY24 and ₹67,962 crore in FY14. Union Minister of Power, Manohar Lal, described this achievement as a 'new chapter' for the distribution sector, attributing it to a decade of concerted reforms and policy interventions. The turnaround is credited to several key initiatives. These include the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), which focuses on infrastructure modernization and accelerated smart metering, alongside enhanced financial discipline through prudential norms that link access to finance with performance benchmarks. Amendments to electricity rules have ensured timely cost adjustments, prudent tariff structures, and transparent subsidy accounting, leading to better cost recovery. The introduction of uniform accounting practices and increased transparency through the Electricity Distribution (Accounts and Additional Disclosure) Rules, 2025, has also played a role. Furthermore, the Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge) Rules have significantly improved payment discipline, reducing outstanding dues to generating companies by 96%, from ₹1.39 lakh crore in 2022 to ₹4,927 crore by January 2026. Operational efficiency has also seen marked improvements. Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses have decreased from 22.62% in FY14 to 15.04% in FY25. The gap between the Average Cost of Supply and Average Revenue Realized (ACS-ARR) has narrowed considerably from ₹0.78 per kWh in FY14 to ₹0.06 per kWh in FY25, indicating better cost recovery. Experts view this as a structural inflection point, driven by improved billing efficiency, reduced AT&C losses, better subsidy management, and tariff rationalization, although challenges remain.