Electricity transmission in the energy community of South East Europe

The paper presents the status of electricity transmission grids in the Energy Community of South East Europe (ECSEE): Albania, Bosnia–Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, UNM in Kosovo. It overviews political and legal aspects of transmission, explaining the impact of the Energy Community Treaty and of the acquis communautaire on energy on the transmission sector. It summarizes the status and the capacity of the interconnections among countries and the current level of cross-border electricity trades. It discusses the need and criteria for electricity transmission investments in the ECSEE.     

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.     

An integrated model for electricity market coupling simulations: Evidence from the European power market crossroad

Motivated by the project of European Power Exchanges to develop a single price-coupling solution to calculate electricity prices across Europe that respects the cross-border capacity constraints on a day-ahead basis, we empirically examine and quantify market inefficiencies in non-coupled day-ahead electricity markets. These result from inefficient cross-border capacity allocation and its underlying effect on the market clearing prices. Efficient cross-border capacity allocation and new market clearing prices are simulated using a social welfare maximisation algorithm for the capacity of relevant network elements, whereas the order book generation process is reproduced by the econometrically estimated supply price elasticity functions. The estimated vector autoregression model and the underlying impulse response functions examine price shock transmission under different market regimes. The market coupling process is simulated on the historical non-coupled day-ahead market realisations at the junction of three regional power markets: Central Western Europe, Northern Italian, and South Eastern European markets. Simulation results confirm steady, efficient cross-border capacity utilisation, reduced price variance, improved overall price convergence and amplified price shock transmission in coupled electricity markets. Furthermore, in the simulated period, we have estimated an increase in the overall suppliers' and consumers’ surplus of almost EUR 16 million. The proposed simulation framework is a clear choice for applied simulation in coupled day-ahead electricity markets, offering valuable visual insights into the cross-border capacity allocation and its implications on electricity prices.     

The impact of residential photovoltaic power on electricity sales revenues in Cape Town,South Africa

In South Africa, electricity is provided as a public service by municipalities. The combination of (a) rising electricity rates, (b) decreasing photovoltaic technology costs, and (c) a progressive tariff system (under which wealthier households support low tariff rates for indigent residents) leads to incentives for high-income households to cover part of their electricity demand by self-produced photovoltaic (solar) electricity. This development is simulated with hourly load profiles and radiation data, and an optimization model for a case study in Cape Town through the year 2030. Results indicate that the majority of higher-income residents are incentivized to invest in photovoltaic power production by 2020 and additionally use home battery systems by 2028. This leads to a steadily increasing gap between revenues and expenditure needs in the budget of the municipality. The budget gap can be reduced by replacing the energy-based tariff with a revenue-neutral fixed network-connection fee implementation of which is particularly effective in reducing incentives to invest in storage.     

Electrifying integration: Electricity production and the South East Europe regional energy market

The paper provides an overview of the generation of electricity in 10 countries in South East Europe during 1995–2004. Using the latest available statistics, we explore the potential of the nascent integration of the electricity markets in South East Europe. We conduct a cross-country analysis of electricity production based on different types of fuel used. The region has a low level of gasification combined with few nuclear power generation facilities, while some countries heavily rely on hydro electric generation. Differences in countries' resource endowment and the possibility of intertemporal substitution between electricity generated from various fuels could stimulate a regional trade in electricity. As an alternative to nationally independent energy policy, regional trade could displace a proportion of the substantial investment in generation facilities required to avert serious supply shortages. Finally, we consider the environmental impact of electricity generation, and identify some of the key trade-offs between different policy objectives.     

天然气分布式能源系统高效性、经济性评价

结合工程实例,对天然气分布式能源系统的高效性(评价指标为节能率)进行评价,对经济性的影响因素进行分析。经济性指标为静态投资回收期,影响因素:单因素:项目总投资额、天然气价格、运行时间、售电价格、售冷价格;双因素:单位发电功率投资额+电气比(售电价格与天然气价格比)、单位发电功率投资额+冷气比(售冷价格与天然气价格比)。运行时间、售电价格、售冷价格对静态投资回收期的影响一致,随着运行时间、售电价格、售冷价格的延长和增大,静态投资回收期缩短,3个因素的影响显著性依次减弱。天然气价格、项目总投资额对静态投资回收期的影响一致,随着天然气价格、项目总投资额的增大,静态投资回收期延长,天然气价格的影响更.显著。单位发电功率投资额一定时,静态投资回收期随电气比的增大而缩短。电气比一定时,静态投资回收期随单位发电功率投资额的减小而缩短。单位发电功率投资额越小,电气比越大,静态投资回收期越短。单位发电功率投资额一定时,静态投资回收期随冷气比的增大而缩短。冷气比一定时,静态投资回收期随单位发电功率投资额的减小而缩短。单位发电功率投资额越小,冷气比越大,静态投资回收期越短。     

The achievements and trend of tariff reform in China—The experience in Shandong Province

The paper describes the electricity tariff system, electricity price reform evolution and the achievements of tariff reform in Shandong Province of China during 1991–1994. The existing problems of tariff system up to 1994 are also presented. In order to solve these problems and establish reasonable tariff systems, the proposed action plan of tariff reform in Shandong Province, P. R. China in the future is also presented.     

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.     

Energy-saving potential by improving occupants’ behavior in urban residential sector in Hangzhou City, China

Besides technical measures, occupants’ behavior is one of the most important issues with respect to energy efficiency in households. This paper will discuss the relationship between electricity consumption and household lifestyle and evaluate the energy-saving potential by improving occupants’ behavior in domestic life through energy-saving education. After 124 households in three typical residential buildings in Hangzhou city of China being selected as research subjects, a series of surveys were conducted: (1) recording of the monthly electricity uses of all subject households from March 2007 to July 2008; (2) energy-saving education to the half of the households before July 2008; (3) a comprehensive survey about the household lifestyle of all subject households in the beginning of August 2008. By comparison analysis of the survey data, major findings are as follows: (1) residential electricity consumption will increase continually in the next years in China, because of the improvement of people's living standard and more dependency on electric appliances; (2) improving occupants’ behavior in domestic life can save more than 10% household electricity use; and (3) some effort on residential energy savings should be shifted from technological measures to improving occupants’ behavior in ordinary domestic life.     

The impact of renewable energy on household electricity prices in liberalized electricity markets: A cross-national panel data analysis

The main research questions addressed in this paper are: first, have electricity market reforms achieved lower household electricity prices and, second, has the introduction of renewable energy increased household electricity prices in deregulated markets Answers to the questions were derived using static and dynamic panel data analysis from 1991 to 2014 employing explanatory variables such as the extent of electricity market reform and the share of generation from renewable energy resources. The dynamic model suggests that a lower household electricity price is associated with the degree of electricity market reform, while the share of renewable energy in electricity generation is not statistically significant.     

The effect of appliance energy efficiency improvements on domestic electric loads in European households

Across Europe domestic electricity consumption is on the rise. In an attempt to counter this increase, various initiatives have been introduced to promote the replacement of less energy-efficient appliances with more efficient ones. Whilst the likely aggregate effect of such measures over long time periods has been modelled extensively, little is known about the affect that a change to higher efficiency appliances will have on the electrical demand profile of individual households at higher temporal resolutions. To address this issue a means by which established approaches to detailed electrical demand modelling can be adapted to simulate the improvements in the efficiency of appliances is elaborated in this paper. A process is developed by which low-resolution empirical appliance demand data can be transformed to produce high-resolution electrical demand data for different periods in the year, factoring in improvements in appliance performance. The process is applied to simulate the effects a changeover to more energy-efficient appliances would have on the minute resolution demand profiles of a group of households. Results indicate that improving the energy-efficiency of appliances in households leads to a significant reduction in electrical energy requirements but does not appear to have a significant affect on the peak electrical demand.     

Impacts of green deal policies on the Nordic power market

This study analyzes how the Green Deal affects the Nordic electricity and district heat market, considering carbon pricing alone and in combination with policy measures such as a coal phaseout, a renewable target, or an electrification strategy. Our findings show that the Green Deal targets significantly increase CO₂ prices and power price variability. The Green Deal has a minor impact on Nordic electricity production, while a switch to increased power-to-heat is observed in the district heating sector. However, if the EU ETS is supplemented with other policies, generation mix, producer revenues, and CO₂- and power prices are significantly impacted.     

Evaluating the evidence on electricity reform: Lessons for the South East Europe (SEE) market

This paper discusses the evidence on electricity reform and relates it to the current situation of the South East Europe (SEE) electricity market. We begin by discussing the main elements of the European Union (EU) electricity reform model. Then we go on to discuss emerging good practice in the regulation of national electricity markets in the EU. This is important because it reflects the key role placed on independent regulation of the electricity sector in the EU reform model. Next, we evaluate the empirical evidence on the success of the EU reform model in particular and the success of electricity reforms more generally. This leads on to a discussion of the particular context of SEE electricity reform and what specific issues this raises. We conclude with a discussion of the importance of more general institutional context of SEE electricity reform. The paper suggests that it will be a substantial, but worthwhile, challenge to create a workable supra-national electricity market in the region.     

South East Europe's electricity sector: Attractions,obstacles and challenges of Europeanisation

The Energy Community is a bold experiment in integration, creating a regional energy market between the European Union and nine South East European partners – Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and the United Nations Mission on behalf of Kosovo. This paper examines the challenges posed by the application of the EU model of energy regulation and the acquis communautaire, and the ability of States to meet those challenges.An investigation of governance in the countries of South East Europe (SEE), including analysis based on the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators, suggests a lower overall performance of governing institutions in SEE, compared with countries of the EU 25. The paper, therefore, considers whether the EU energy model is appropriate in South East Europe at this stage. The EU model confers certain institutional resources, but at the same time imposes significant costs of compliance with the energy chapter of the acquis. It remains to be seen which of these two opposing factors will dominate, but the analysis suggests that for some countries in the region, regulatory reform alone may not be sufficient.     

Tariffs and quotas in a spatial duopoly with a land market

This paper develops a spatial duopoly model by taking land consumption and mobile households into consideration and examines the respective effects of a tariff and a quota on an open economy with various price conjectural variations (including L?schian, H-S and G-O competition). The main conclusions are: (i) The Metzler Paradox does not occur under a tariff but occurs under a quota in L?schian competition; (ii) The tariff and the quota are completely equivalent under H-S competition if the nature of the quota constraint does not affect the original price conjectures; (iii) If an import equivalent quota induces a change in the domestic producer's strategy from L?schian (H-S and G-O) competition to the price leadership position, then the quota yields domestic prices which are lower (higher) than those induced by a tariff. Received: December 1998/Accepted: May 1999     

Organisation and reforms of the electricity sector in Slovenia

As a new member state of the EU, Slovenia has been required to adopt EU legislation in full. The Slovenian electricity market has been partially opened since 2001. From 1 July 2007, when households became eligible customers, the electricity market opened fully. The electricity reforms carried out so far comprise of market liberalization, unbundling of activities, allowing regulated TPA, formation of an organized power market, adoption of incentive-based price cap regulation and the establishment of an independent regulatory body. The challenge that remains to be addressed is how to enhance competition in an electricity market that has a net importer position with limited cross-border capacity. Envisaged investments in generating and cross-border capacities will partially close the gap between domestic generation and consumption. Furthermore, since Slovenia has one of the largest levels of state ownership in the electricity sector among EU member states, privatization of electricity companies is envisaged in the near future.     

Policy mix of renewable portfolio standards,feed-in tariffs,and auctions in South Korea: Are three better than one?

This study examines the effects of policy mix supporting electricity from renewable energy sources (RES-E) in South Korea. South Korea relies on a renewable portfolio standard as the main support scheme along with a feed-in tariff and long-term supply contract auctions as complementary schemes to support RES-E. This study investigates whether there is synergy among RES-E support policies. It also investigates how the policy mix affects RES-E markets. Although this study only focuses on a particular case of Korea, a policy mix generally can be an effective way to overcome the drawbacks of a single policy instrument in supporting RES-E.     

Service quality,technical efficiency and total factor productivity growth in Pakistan's post-reform electricity distribution companies

Pakistan's energy sector has undergone substantial reforms during the last three decades with the aim to improve its operational performance and to cater to the growing energy needs of the economy. In the wake of these reforms, the WAPDA Act was passed in 1998 to achieve operational and financial efficiencies. Pakistan's electricity market is still hampered by issues like extended blackouts, electricity thefts, high circular debt and poor service quality. The electricity distribution sector is thus an interesting case to investigate its efficiency in the post-reform period by examining the impact of service-quality parameters (SQPs), which have generally been neglected in the literature. Stochastic frontier analysis has been used to estimate technical efficiency, while the Malmquist Productivity Index is implemented to decompose total factor productivity (TFP) into scale change, technical change and efficiency change from 2006 to 2016. We conclude that the technical efficiency score declines from 98 percent to 36 percent with the inclusion of SQPs in the models. The results also indicate a negative trend in scale change, implying that distribution companies are not operating at the technically optimal scale. We propose that the regulatory body should change its governance regime and focus on incentive-based regulation instead of rate-of-return regulation.     

The impact of electricity market reform on consumers

We examine the effect of electricity market reform on residential consumers, using hypothetical scenarios likely to be prompted by reform. These include raising tariffs to cost reflective levels and introducing a standing charge to recover 10% of the revenue to mirror cost reflective structures. For Albania and Bulgaria, where household expenditure surveys and electricity tariffs are available, we analyse the effects by expenditure decile and region. The impact of reforms varies considerably, depending on how far current tariffs reflect the long run marginal costs of supply, but likely reform scenarios will adversely affect low income households more than others.