Poverty and environmental impacts of electricity price reforms in Montenegro

The creation of the Energy Community of South Eastern Europe in 2005 committed countries in South Eastern Europe to liberalize their energy markets in accordance to EU regulations. The Government of Montenegro is thus in the process of reforming its energy sector, which includes an electricity tariff reform. This paper analyzes the environmental and social impacts of an increase in residential electricity tariffs contemplated – which is expected to range anywhere from 40 to over 100% increase. As this analysis shows, such a significant price rise will impose a heavy burden on the poor households and it may adversely affect the environment. In an ex ante investigation of the welfare impact of this price increase on households in Montenegro, we show that the anticipated price increase will result in a very significant increase in households' energy expenditures. A simulation of alternative policy measures analyzes the impact of different tariff levels and structures, focusing on the poor and vulnerable households. Higher electricity prices could also significantly increase the proportion of households using fuelwood for space heating. Thus the level of fuelwood consumption should be carefully monitored under the electricity tariff reforms and the Government of Montenegro should combine the tariff reforms with a carefully evaluated set of policy measures to mitigate the effect of the electricity price increase on the poor.     

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.     

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     

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.     

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。     

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.     

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.     

The (In)efficiency of the retail-minus rule

The Retail-Minus Rule (RMR) specifies that the rate for a mandated wholesale service is set by subtracting from the vertically integrated provider's (VIP's) retail price the costs it avoids by selling the wholesale service rather than the retail service. While the RMR offers regulators an expedient method for setting wholesale prices, we show that it is efficient only under restrictive conditions. The proper test for a price squeeze inquires whether the VIP's retail price is greater than or equal to the sum of the direct cost and the opportunity cost of supplying the retail service. The RMR passes this test only when the competing retail services are perfect substitutes.     

Consumer preferences and electricity pricing reform in Western Australia

Australia's electricity prices are high, driven by rising peak demand that is forcing significant levels of infrastructure investment. Compounding these factors is the lack of transparent price signals for consumers, with uniform pricing structures providing no incentive to change consumption behaviours.This research surveyed residential electricity consumers in Western Australia about their perceptions of solar, consumption behaviour, and electricity pricing structures.The results suggest that customers in Western Australia may be willing to change behaviour, reduce electricity usage, and be rewarded for use of renewable technologies, highlighting an opportunity for policies such as retail tariff reform to be further explored.     

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.     

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.     

Distributed energy cost recovery for a fragile utility: The case of Électricité du Liban

Previous research on distributed solar PV (DPV) systems in Lebanon has focused on studying these systems from the perspective of developers. This study examines the impact of DPV expansion from the perspective of a fragile and inefficient power utility, Électricité du Liban. Specifically, this paper studies the economics and policy options of on-grid systems via a net-metering scheme. The analysis yields two primary recommendations: In the absence of tariff reform for cost recovery, DPV policies should promote self-consumption; and after cost recovery is achieved, DPV tariff should ensure an adequate price differential that balances the interests of EDL and prosumers.     

Tariff adjustment frameworks for privately financed infrastructure projects

Since privately financed infrastructure (PFI) projects are usually natural monopolies, their tariffs should be regulated to ensure socially desirable outcomes. In reality, the regulation is usually realized through tariff adjustment mechanisms. There are four basic tariff adjustment frameworks for PFI projects - adjustment based on sale price, revenue, operating income and profit after tax. They have different risk exposures and incentives. The adjustment based on the sale price provides the project company with the highest potential to increase profit but exposes it to the highest risk, while the adjustment based on the guaranteed ROR exposes the project company to the lowest risk but provides the least potential for increasing profit. Adjustments based on the revenue or the operating income are somewhere in between. In practice, a hybrid of two or more adjustment frameworks may be adopted to adapt to specific project environments. A well-designed tariff adjustment framework can create a ‘win-win’ solution for both the public and private sectors.     

Alternative tariff structures and household composition: Evidence from Spain's Valencia region

Water pricing is one of the fundamental tools for water resources management. However, the current tariff structure in Spain has associated problems in relation to the composition of households. This paper analyses the current tariffs of Spain's Valencia region and studies the effect of alternative tariff structures. The results show an imbalance irrespective of the tariff applied even when the number of household members is considered, as the relationship between the number of household members and water consumption is not linear. Therefore, the problem is not the tariff structure per se but not including the composition of the household in the tariff.     

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.     

Self-supply and regulated tariffs: Dynamic equilibria between photovoltaic market evolution and rate structures to ensure network sustainability

This research analyses the impacts of substantial changes in energy production driven by self-supply through Photovoltaic (PV) adoption. Three different regulatory design options are analysed with a model developed to estimate the evolution of self-supply deployment as a function of price by: (i) starting with the actual tariff structure and parameters; (ii) introducing a new network usage component for rate-payer energy suppliers, and (iii) evolving towards higher allowed revenues recovered through fixed charges under the tariff. The results of the analysis suggest that gradual transitions toward higher fixed Network Access charges do not dissuade PV deployment.     

深基坑支护工程失事原因分析（3）

本文结合广西南宁市宫华大酒店、财政厅深基坑支护及抢险工程中的体会以及对泰安、银都、人防办、交易场等二十几个高层建筑深基坑支护工程中存在的问题调查、分析基坑失稳的主要原因，提出避免工程失事的一些有效措施，以供设计、施工时参考。     

计量供暖收费的框架设计

进行了计量供暖收费的框架设计,探讨了热价结构、收费模式、热费的分摊方式、收费周期及收费服务体系问题。计量供暖收费的总体框架为：采用两部制热价——基本热价和热量热价;收费模式可采用二级分摊或三级分摊,对三级分摊可采用温度法和热量法;收费服务体系中,设立中介机构。     

深基坑支护工程失事原因分析（2）

本文结合广西南宁市宫华大酒店、财政厅深基坑支护及抢险工程中的体会以及对泰安、银都、人防办、交易场等二十几个高层建筑深基坑支护工程中存在的问题调查、分析基坑失稳的主要原因，提出避免工程失事的一些有效措施，以供设计、施工时参考。     

Tariffs, factor prices, and welfare in a spatial oligopoly

In this paper we derive endogenous tariff rates for a tariff revenue maximizing policy and a welfare maximizing policy (optimal tariff) in a spatial framework. The underlying model is that of a spatial oligopolistic market with domestic and foreign firms. We assess the outcomes of the model for different tariff rates and the free trade situation, the stress being on welfare considerations. Compared to the traditional theory of international trade and tariffs, this approach affords useful insights into the role of firms‘ locations and transportation costs for profits and consumers‘ surplus in the case of alternative trade policies. Received: February 1996 / Accepted in revised form: April 1997