Utilities

The Public Perception of Power Blackouts

by Helen Brayley

Co-authored with Miles Redfern and Z. Bo

Analisi economica e metodo giuridico: i servizi pubblici locali

by Luca R. Perfetti

An Ideal Sustainable Energy Model for Local Utilities: An Assessment of the City of San Marcos, Texas

by Texas State PA Applied Research Projects

Harkins, James S., "An Ideal Sustainable Energy Model for Local Utilities: An Assessment of the City of San Marcos, Texas" (2010). Applied Research Projects, Texas State University-San Marcos. Paper 330.
http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/330

THIS PAPER WAS THE WINNER OF THE 2010 MCGREW AWARD FOR RESEARCH Central Texas Chapter American Society for Public Administration (Capstone category)

The purpose of this research is to develop an ideal sustainable energy policy for the San Marcos Electric Utility. The... more The purpose of this research is to develop an ideal sustainable energy policy for the San Marcos Electric Utility. The utility of the 21st century should focus on doing more with less, rather than always producing more, which was the 20th century model. The San Marcos Electric Utility is uniquely positioned to become an energy utility for the 21st century by focusing on the five key components of the practical ideal model, known as the Sustainable Energy Utility. The five key elements are:


* Central Coordination
* Comprehensive Programs
* Flexible Incentives
* Financial Self-Sufficiency
* Setting a Standard

Key literature is reviewed on effective green policies for electric utilities, and applies them to policies in San Marcos, Texas. The research examines the historical context of renewable energy policies in the United States, and the lack of a comprehensive and consistent federal plan going back to the 1973 Arab oil embargo. By exploring how local governments acted in the absence of federal action, the research shows how local action is key to driving change. A case study of the San Marcos Electric Utility occurred, using document analysis, direct observation, and structured interviews to gauge certain policies in San Marcos to determine how close the policies of the San Marcos Electric Utility reflect the ideal policies established by the Sustainable Energy Utility. For the most part, San Marcos mostly meets the standards of the Sustainable Energy Utility. The research helped develop 23 recommendations to improve the policies of the San Marcos Electric Utility.

Anti privatization debate, opaque rules and neglected ‘privatised’ water services provision: some lessons from Indonesia

by mohamad mova al afghani

This is the pre-peer-reviewed version of the which has been published in final form at the IDS Bulletin

Out of 100 Articles in the Water Law, only one is dedicated to specifically regulate the drinking water and sanitation... more Out of 100 Articles in the Water Law, only one is dedicated to specifically regulate the drinking water and sanitation sector. Even this one article regulates Private Sector Participation (PSP) very vaguely.The Water Law neither provides clarity on the form of ownership nor the desired regulatory model. The implementing regulation of the Water Law implies that contracts between
the government and the private sector will be the desired model, but left no clarity as to how the contract should be regulated.

As a result, there is a major lack of regulation in the water services sector. The idea to retain the ownership of assets while allowing PSP through contracts appears to be a modus-vivendi generated by the privatization debate. However, the contracts are not complemented by higher regulation to safeguard consumer’s interest. In many regions, service levels and consumers rights are thus subjected to contractual negotiations to be agreed bilaterally between the authorities and the private sector while citizens are considered only as an auxiliary to the whole process

Information relevance in pseudodiagnostic reasoning

by Gaelle Villejoubert

Vallée-Tourangeau, F., & Villejoubert, G. (2010). Information relevance in pseudodiagnostic reasoning. In S. Ohlsson & R. Catrambone (Eds.), Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 1172-1177). Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society.

When faced with two competing hypotheses, people sometime prefer to look at multiple sources of information in support... more When faced with two competing hypotheses, people sometime prefer to look at multiple sources of information in support of one hypothesis rather than to establish the diagnostic value of a single piece of information for the two hypotheses. This is termed pseudodiagnostic reasoning, and is understood to reflect a pervasive confirmation bias. Past research suggests that diagnostic reasoning may be more easily fostered when participants seek data to help in the selection of one of two competing courses of action as opposed to situations where they seek data to help inferring which of two competing hypotheses is true. In the experiment reported here, we provide the first empirical evidence demonstrating that the facilitating effect observed in action problems is driven by considerations of information relevance, reasoners’ motivations and the numerical value of the first piece of information presented. The discussion of these findings focuses on implications for the ability to engage in diagnostic hypothesis-testing.

Equitable Access to Basic Utilities: Public Versus Private Provision and Beyond

by Raquel Tsukada

El Acceso Equitativo a Los Servicios Básicos: Más Allá Del Dilema Abastecimiento Público Versus Abastecimiento Privado

by Raquel Tsukada

Privatisation and Renationalisation: What Went Wrong In Bolivia's Water Sector?

by Raquel Tsukada

Co-authored with D. Hailu and R. Osório

This paper investigates the concentration of access to safe water across income levels in Bolivia. In particular, it... more This paper investigates the concentration of access to safe water across income levels in Bolivia. In particular, it focuses on how privatisation has changed coverage, affordability and the concentration of access to water on the part of the poor. We compare the performance of cities in which the service was privatised (La Paz and El Alto) with a city in which it is managed as a cooperative (Santa Cruz de la Sierra) and one where the service is publicly provided (Cochabamba). We examine the pre- and post-privatisation periods. Close inspection of the household surveys reveals that access to water by low-income consumers increased in the periods when the service was provided under private concessions. Coverage has expanded significantly in the bottom quintiles of the population in the cities where water was privatised, and thus access to water is more equitable. The state, however, renationalised the water utility. What went wrong, then, in Bolivia’s water sector? The answer is that the private concessionaire failed to meet the targets stipulated in the concession contract. The tariff increases required for full cost recovery eventually led to public outrage that forced the government to terminate the contract.

Water Privatisation and Renationalisation In Bolivia: Are the Poor Better Off?

by Raquel Tsukada

Constitutional Court's Review and the Future of Water Law In Indonesia

by mohamad mova al afghani

Safeguarding Water Contracts in Indonesia

by mohamad mova al afghani

3/2 Law, Environment and Development Journal (2007), p. 148

Transparency Agenda in Water Utilities Regulation and the Role of Freedom of Information Law: Jakarta and England Case Study

by mohamad mova al afghani

Published in the Journal of Water Law

The water supply sector is suffering from the lack of
governance and economic regulation is failing in manymore The water supply sector is suffering from the lack of
governance and economic regulation is failing in many
instances. Establishing a transparency mechanism is a
way to tackle these problems. `Transparency' in this
context is defined as the public disclosure of information
which is essential to enable governance and
support economic regulation. The ways in which a
legal framework addresses this problem vary according
to ownership and regulatory models of water
services. Transparency mechanisms can be detailed in
legislation, contained implicitly in the discretionary
power of the regulator or stipulated in contracts.

Obstruction of performance under Article 86(2) EC Treaty and the Water Sector

by mohamad mova al afghani

Master Thesis

My master thesis attempts to define "Obstruction of performance" under Article 86(2) of the EC Treaty and... more My master thesis attempts to define "Obstruction of performance" under Article 86(2) of the EC Treaty and how this category can be applied to the water industry. The thesis argued that Obstruction of performance has to be narrowly interpreted and necessity/proportionality of the measure has to be taken into account in order to invoke "Services of General Economic Interest" (SGEI) justification under the EC Treaty. Comparing with electricity and gas sector, I conclude that specific situations in the water industry may justify its exclusion from general EC Competition rule. Scenarios where "obstruction" in the water industry occurs were explored.