A diagnostic tool for estimating the incidence of subsidies delivered by water utilities in low- and medium-income countries,with illustrative simulations

It is conventional wisdom that poor households use less water than rich households, and intuition suggests that an increasing block tariff with a lifeline block will target subsidies to poor households. In this paper we provide a simple diagnostic tool that a water utility can use to estimate the distribution of subsidies to households in different income quintiles and to check whether this intuition about the incidence of subsidies is correct in a specific local service area. The results of our illustrative simulations calibrated using data from low- and medium-income countries, show that subsidies delivered through the most common tariff structures are very poorly targeted to poor households. This finding holds regardless of the specific characteristics of the tariff structure used to calculate households’ water bills. We also find that the higher the correlation between household income and water use, the lower the proportion of total subsidies received by poor households.     

Governance structures and their impact on tariff levels of Brazilian water and sanitation corporations

This study analyzes the effect of governance structure on the tariff levels applied by Brazilian corporations of water supply and sanitation. It aims to contribute to the traditional debate of public versus private management, and to determine the effect of regulatory structure on tariff levels. The results first show that, when jointly considered, the water supply and sanitation tariff levels are higher for privately managed corporations. Second, we have found that a corporation regulated by a local agency or a regional agency does not exhibit significantly lower tariff levels than unregulated corporations. Finally, the results indicate that the use of the rate of return and price cap/revenue cap regimes do not provide tariff levels lower than those set via negotiation with the municipality.     

Factors influencing residential water consumption in Wallonia,Belgium

Studies on residential water determinants often considered a limited number of possible factors due to lacking data, especially at micro-levels. This study aims to address the simultaneous effects of (1) household characteristics, (2) alternative sources of water, (3) dwelling properties, (4) water appliances, (5) attitudes, and (6) urban form on household water use in Wallonia (Belgium). Results emphasize the importance of household characteristics, use of alternative water sources, and dwelling properties. When compared to these variables, the influence of urban density appears very limited. Accordingly, the often-observed location factors are mainly related to the shared household characteristics, such as composition, income, lot area, or the practice of using rainwater.     

Challenges of recycled water pricing

Recycled water has posed new challenges for conventional water supply and wastewater provision models, as it interconnects different related services. The reclaimed water sector faces the arduous task of setting specific pricing policies since rules for potable water and wastewater charges may not be appropriate for it. This article addresses a review of current challenges in pricing policies for recycled water based on case studies available worldwide, highlighting the most common tariff structures in use and the principles applied, providing a guideline for recycled water pricing based on the barriers, drivers, and practices found around the global experiences and academic literature. The results show that different tariff structures are adopted based on local socioeconomic factors and water authorities’ objectives. We conclude that the local environmental conditions, the institutional arrangement, technical and economic specificities are influence factors that decision-makers should consider when setting recycled water charges.     

Effect of electricity price reform on households’ electricity consumption in urban Ethiopia

Until recently, the price of electricity in Ethiopia was among the lowest in the world. Such low prices have contributed to a substantial financial deficit for the government-owned electric utility and led to a degradation in the quality of electricity services delivered to customers. In December 2018, the utility increased the electricity tariff to help to finance improvements in the quality of electricity services. This paper studies the effect of the revised tariff on urban household electricity consumption and alternative fuel expenditure. The study relied on two rounds of household survey data and six years of electricity consumption data from the utility company. The study finds that prepaid customers reduced their electricity consumption by about 22 kWh per month in the post-tariff-adjustment periods, equivalent to about 10% of electricity expenditure and 14% of daily consumption. In the overall sample, however, consumption slightly increased over time. These results imply that the price elasticity of demand for electricity in urban Ethiopia is highly inelastic. Moreover, households did not shift substantially toward the use of alternative fuels. The findings indicate that governments and utilities in settings where electricity is priced well below cost-covering levels may be able to increase revenues and improve their balance sheets with relatively modest effects on households’ electricity consumption, though effects from more substantial tariff hikes should be examined.     

Tariffs,price conjectures and welfare in an open spatial economy

This paper examines the implications of a tariff increase in a spatial model of an open economy with price conjectures between domestic and foreign producers of non-identical goods. Households are mobile and location and rent adjustments are influenced by pricing policies. It is shown that, although the equilibrium configuration of the economy is sensitive to the prevailing combination of conjectural variations, the effects of a tariff increase are qualitatively consistent across alternative, and perhaps asymmetric, price conjectures. The tariff reduces the endogenous mill price of the import, increases its post-tariff delivered price throughout the economy, and induces a decrease in both the mill and delivered price of the domestic good. Location and rent adjustments cause the common equilibrium level of household utility to decline with an increase in the tariff, regardless of the particular mix of conjectural variations. Domestic consumer utility can only be restored to its initial (world norm) level by out-migration.     

集约化新农村住宅模式化设计与套型可变性研究——以成渝城乡统筹区为研究对象

在城镇化发展的时代背景下,集约化居住模式成为当前新农村发展的趋势。随着社会、经济的飞速发展,农民生活水平的不断提高,职业状况的多样化,代际间生活观念及生活习惯的差异,要求集约化新农村的住宅能够不断适应各种变化。文章根据成渝地区集约化新农村建设用地执行的标准,将可变性设计融入已模式化的套型设计中,使其满足可根据家庭成员的构成和居住意愿,随时调整居住空间的组织形式。采用可变的＂分层居＂、＂毗邻居＂、＂合居＂以提供极大的空间灵活性,达到当代＂分家而不分户＂居住新理念。     

Tariff (un)sustainability in contexts of price (in)stability: The case of the Buenos Aires water and sanitation concession

We aim to analyze tariff sustainability in the Buenos Aires water and sanitation concession amidst price instability. We use the 3Ts model (Tariff, Taxes and Transfers) to discuss tariff resetting from 2002 to 2019. We show that both level and tariff structure reflect the national administrations' preferences as regards service cost allocation among stakeholders. Despite the efforts, revenue has been below operative expenditure, which shows the company's difficulty to remain operationally sustainable and the differences between the ex-ante and ex-post burden of the three Ts. We suggest recommendations for the regulator to shield the sector against price instability.     

Analysis of a current water tariff and attitudes towards change: A representative study from a Palestinian city

The problem of an outdated tariff has become acute recently with increased water scarcity in Palestine. Therefore, the goals of the study were to analyse the factors that could affect the water consumption in Jericho governorate, Palestine; explore societal perceptions of alternative water sources; and to identify areas that need to be re-examined for tariff revision or changes to water source and delivery. A total of 76% of the respondents know the water tariff price, and 61% of the sample considers the tariff as high. Future suggestions to raise the price of water will meet resistance. Interestingly, 66% of the respondents agree with the possible future use of treated wastewater, and 46% of the respondents emphasize that treated wastewater is the most favoured solution for water scarcity. Overall, the results indicate the public identifies water conservation as possible and that alternative actions can be applied in order to manage and conserve water resources.     

Adoption of increasing block tariffs (IBTs) among urban water utilities in major cities in China

Increasing block tariffs (IBTs) have been officially endorsed by the Chinese government since 1998, but by the end of 2013, fewer than half of the country’s 36 major cities had adopted IBTs as the tariff structure for their water utilities. Our study examines the main factors affecting these cities’ decisions on whether or not to adopt IBTs, considering both general characteristics of the cities and characteristics of their water utilities. A discrete-time hazard model is used for empirical analysis. Results show that factors most likely to affect a major city’s decision on IBT adoption include the city’s economic development as measured by growth rate of GDP; changes in the relative importance of the domestic water sector; the city’s wastewater treatment rate and leakage rate; and business structure of the water utility.     

Tariff recommendations: A Panacea for the Portuguese water sector?

In Portugal, in the early twenty first century, the water utilities industry was still quite complex displaying considerable financial shortcomings. That issue occurred, mainly, at the retail level due to faulty rate setting practices, stressing, perhaps, arbitrariness and political influence in price-setting strategies. To cope with that situation, the water sector regulator published tariff guidelines to harmonize cost analyses, tariff structures and levels, creating a basis for comparison. The suggestion of two-part tariffs with increasing block rates seems to lack enough flexibility and proper supporting material. Thus, our analysis focuses on assessing whether the recommendations issued are able to achieve the proposed objectives through the suggested procedures, reviewing the structure proposed and possible adjustments.     

Full cost recovery of water services and the 3 T's of OECD

In Europe today, tariff design is no simple matter; consumption decline highlights that ‘optimal’ tariff doesn't exist. The OECD 3 T's cost recovery approach allows to discuss solutions to implementing the triple bottom line of sustainability in the water services sector, through new governance mechanisms. For both internal and external governance, additional knowledge can help adapt tariff design. And the recovery of environmental and resource costs paid by authorities in charge of water services could be passed on citizens (local taxes) rather than customers (water bills). In France, the liberal state tradition makes it impossible, leading to incoherent tariffs.     

城市水价的定价目标、构成和原则

明确了城市水价的四元结构组成，即水资源费、水利工程供水价格、城市供水价格以及污水处理费四部分；提出水价定价目标是政府、消费者和企业三方利益的均衡；从决定水价的政治、经济、社会等综合因素出发，进一步将水价按属性分为资源水价、环境水价和工程水价，并对三种水价的性质和定价原则分别进行了阐述，对全成本核算的适用范围进行了界定。     

Seasonal patterns and socio-economic predictors of household rainwater and greywater use

Seasonal water insecurity is a growing concern in many countries. For some households, rainwater and greywater are important alternative water sources. This study examines household patterns and socio-economic predictors of using rainwater and greywater in urban Philippines, in rainy versus dry seasons. Results from a household survey (N = 396) and in-depth interviews (N = 18) suggest that rainwater and greywater use are widespread, particularly among households with more members, less financial resources, and less access to the public utility, in seasonal ways. Future research into the adoption and diffusion of these practices may inform policies that promote equitable water access year-round.     

Towards sustainable urban water services in developing countries: tariffs based on willingness-to-pay studies

ABSTRACT

Water supply and sanitation (WASH) service providers in most towns of developing countries, such as Godey Town in Ethiopia, the case study reported in this paper, deliver less than basic services. The costs for meeting the more ambitious WASH targets of the Sustainable Development Goals will be much higher than what has previously been invested in the sector. This study showed that a tariff structure designed using affordability and willingness-to-pay data would provide higher revenues than one solely based on estimated customers’ affordability, or Ethiopian government’s tariff guidelines. As in previous studies in Ethiopia, this study highlights government’s low willingness-to-charge amidst a high customers’ willingness-to-pay. Yet, there is need to increase water tariffs in developing countries, hence, moving towards financial sustainability and supplementing the other two Ts – taxes and transfers. Based on accurate and updated socio-economic data, the tariff can also be optimised to fulfil the social equity objective.     

C100高强混凝土框架-核心筒消能减震结构抗震性能研究

我国现行建筑抗震设计规范中要求结构（构件）在满足承载力的同时,需具备足够的变形能力,但是由于高强材料在延性上的不足,高强混凝土结构构件可能无法同时满足以上要求。为充分发挥高强混凝土竖向构件承载力,基于设置消能减震装置集中耗能降低结构地震响应的方法,对7度设防区C100高强混凝土框架-核心筒消能减震结构抗震性能进行研究。结果表明：在罕遇地震作用下,C100高强混凝土框架-核心筒结构竖向构件基本保持在弹性工作状态,消能减震技术可有效降低地震作用,保证结构的抗震安全;通过不同消能减震方案对比分析得到,在加强层以及结构剪切变形较明显的楼层布置合理数量的黏滞阻尼器减震效果最好。     

Homogeneity versus heterogeneity in household structure: the recent experience of twenty US cities

"This paper is an investigation of the variation in household structure at the census tract level in twenty US cities between 1970 and 1980. Results indicate that households were, in 1980, more likely to reside in proximity to households with different compositions. In 1980 the most genuinely diverse census tracts, in terms of household composition, were in neighborhoods with recently constructed, single-family housing."     

Efficiency and regulation in the sanitation sector in Brazil

Regulation in the sanitation sector in Brazil is facing a great deal of debate regarding the government level at which conceding authority should reside and how private operators can fulfill social objectives. The main objective of this study is to show that these issues are not the crucial barriers to the sector's development when one looks at the operators' productivity performance. Therefore, we undertake a detailed analysis of the productivity level of the current structure of the sanitation sector in Brazil. In doing so, we are able to analyze how jurisdiction of operators as well as the nature of the management, either private or public, has affected performance of the current operators. Moreover, we investigate how the absence of tariff regulation has dissipated efficiencies and allowed charging monopolistic tariffs.     

A critical review of methods used to obtain flow patterns and volumes of individual domestic water using appliances

Determining the daily flow rates and water use patterns of specific household fixtures and appliances is important for water use monitoring, deriving effective strategies for water demand management, designing onsite water reuse systems, and efficient planning and investment in the urban water sector. Currently, there are a limited number of publications which address the need to measure flow patterns and volumes of individual household water-using appliances, or which analyze the alternatives to do so. This paper critically reviews and compares different methods of obtaining the specific flow patterns and volumes of water used by individual household water-using microcomponents (i.e. toilet, bath/shower, washbasin, washing machine, kitchen sink, dishwasher, etc.) in order to make recommendations about the appropriateness of these methodologies for various applications.     

Falling household size and its effect on metropolitan population growth and density

In determining metropolitan population size and changes therein, urban theorists traditionally have focused on the number of occupied dwelling units or households and have assumed that these households are equal in size. This paper argues that average household size is an indicator of how intensively the housing stock is utilized and that there is substantial variation in household size across SMSAs in the U.S. The experience of 150 SMSAs is examined for the time period 1960 to 1970. The study model attributes varying household size to differentials in birth and divorce rates, racial composition and age of housing. Ramifications of recent household size declines involve the internal spatial organization of metropolitan areas and the Census controversy with cities over alleged undercounts of urban populations.