Drawing from the social constructivist approach to the study of science, technology and society, this article tries to examine the role of legal, economic, political and environmental factors in determining the course of the development of electricity in the Madras Presidency under British colonial rule. Apart from these factors, the impact of historical events such as the two World Wars on the trajectories of electrification is also analysed. The combination of circumstances that influenced the development of electricity in a colonised territory was quite peculiar in many ways and significantly shaped its ultimate character.