diff --git a/doc/source/whatsnew/v0.20.0.txt b/doc/source/whatsnew/v0.20.0.txt
index 0873e4b34b0b1..8bd794983375d 100644
--- a/doc/source/whatsnew/v0.20.0.txt
+++ b/doc/source/whatsnew/v0.20.0.txt
@@ -282,6 +282,7 @@ Performance Improvements
 Bug Fixes
 ~~~~~~~~~
 
+- Bug in ``Index`` power operations with reversed operands(:issue:`14973`)
 - Bug in ``TimedeltaIndex`` addition where overflow was being allowed without error (:issue:`14816`)
 - Bug in ``DataFrame`` construction in which unsigned 64-bit integer elements were being converted to objects (:issue:`14881`)
 - Bug in ``astype()`` where ``inf`` values were incorrectly converted to integers. Now raises error now with ``astype()`` for Series and DataFrames (:issue:`14265`)
diff --git a/pandas/indexes/base.py b/pandas/indexes/base.py
index 1cc546629589d..1fce5ed17c8cf 100644
--- a/pandas/indexes/base.py
+++ b/pandas/indexes/base.py
@@ -3534,7 +3534,9 @@ def _evaluate_numeric_binop(self, other):
             operator.sub, '__sub__', reversed=True)
         cls.__mul__ = cls.__rmul__ = _make_evaluate_binop(
             operator.mul, '__mul__')
-        cls.__pow__ = cls.__rpow__ = _make_evaluate_binop(
+        cls.__rpow__ = _make_evaluate_binop(
+            operator.pow, '__pow__', reversed=True)
+        cls.__pow__ = _make_evaluate_binop(
             operator.pow, '__pow__')
         cls.__mod__ = _make_evaluate_binop(
             operator.mod, '__mod__')
diff --git a/pandas/tests/indexes/test_numeric.py b/pandas/tests/indexes/test_numeric.py
index b362c9716b672..f7f072d5b5d2a 100644
--- a/pandas/tests/indexes/test_numeric.py
+++ b/pandas/tests/indexes/test_numeric.py
@@ -105,6 +105,15 @@ def test_numeric_compat(self):
         for r, e in zip(result, expected):
             tm.assert_index_equal(r, e)
 
+        # test power calculations both ways, GH 14973
+        expected = pd.Float64Index(2.0**idx.values)
+        result = 2.0**idx
+        tm.assert_index_equal(result, expected)
+
+        expected = pd.Float64Index(idx.values**2.0)
+        result = idx**2.0
+        tm.assert_index_equal(result, expected)
+
     def test_explicit_conversions(self):
 
         # GH 8608