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The paper presents a structured, comprehensive and universally applicable approach to the management of cyber security of the power production and distribution of critical electricity national infrastructure. In his daily work, the author is competent for the protection and the resilience of the national electric power infrastructure against the threats from cyber space. The exposed approach and methods to the objective in question are successfully applied.

Neste artigo é abordado o conceito de Redes Inteligentes de energia ou como são denominadas – Smart Grids. Algo que no Brasil encontra-se em estágio embrionário e despontando como conceito inovador para redes de distribuição de energia elétrica, que não apenas conduzem a eletricidade, mas que também podem oferecer aos clientes e concessionárias de energia elétrica, uma gama de novos benefí­cios. Em paí­ses como: Alemanha; Estados Unidos; Finlândia; França; Índia; Itália; Reino Unido já é uma realidade há alguns anos e em diferentes estágios de aplicação. Buscando contribuir neste contexto, o objetivo do artigo é analisar os efeitos proporcionados pela transformação de uma rede convencional de energia elétrica em uma rede do tipo smart grid, considerando o cenário que atualmente encontram-se as redes de energia e demais instalações elétricas que compreendem o parque de atendimento da concessionária estudada. Para cumprir o objetivo proposto foi realizado um estudo de caso em uma concessionaria de energia elétrica no estado do Rio Grande do Sul que está iniciando o processo de transformação de suas redes convencionais para as redes do tipo Smart Grids. Dentre os principais resultados pode-se perceber que o processo para esta transformação além de longo, envolve diretamente diversas áreas de conhecimento que de forma interligada resultam na tecnologia Smart Grid. Também observou-se que se trata de um trabalho que envolve valores expressivos além do longo tempo para total adequação das instalações. This article examines the concept of Intelligent Energy Networks - Smart Grids. In Brazil, this concept is still in its embryonic emerging stage as an innovative concept for electricity distribution networks, which not only conduct electricity, but can also offer customers and electric utilities a wide range of new benefits. In countries such as Germany, China, the United States, Finland, France, India, Italy and in the United Kingdom, Smart Grids have been a reality for a few years already at different stages of use. To contribute in this context, the objective of this article is to analyze the effects provided by the transformation of a conventional power grid into a Smart Grid type, considering the current scenario of electric power grids that comprise the electrical installations and service areas provided by the electric utility studied in this article. In order to achieve the proposed objective, a case study was carried out in an electric utility in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which is currently beginning the process of transforming from its conventional networks to the Smart Grids type networks. Among the main results observed in this study, it can be pointed out that the process for this transformation demands a long-term operation as well as the direct involvement of several interlinked areas of knowledge that result in the Smart Grid technology. It was also observed that this process implies significant costs as well as a long period of time required for the total adequacy of the installations.

Električna energija se kroz povijest koristila kako bi olakšala svakodnevicu i poboljšala životne uvjete. Među zadovoljenjem osnovnih životnih potreba danas svakako spada korištenje električne energije koju koristimo za pripremu jela, grijanje i hlađenje prostorija u kojima živimo, napajanje radnih strojeva s kojima radimo, osvjetljavamo domove, radne prostorije i cijele gradove javnom rasvjetom. Zadnjih desetljeća potrošnja upotrebe električne energije raste, stoga je potrebno osigurati njene dovoljne količine kako bi sve funkcioniralo kako treba. Proizvodni kapaciteti Republike Hrvatske su ograničeni. U uvjetima umjerene potrošnje, te povoljnim hidrometeorološkim prilikama kada hidroelektrane mogu iskoristiti sve svoje kapacitete, termoelektrane su u pogonu, nesmetano se preuzima proizvedena električna energija iz Nuklearne elektrane Krško, te se koriste ostali obnovljivi izvori energije Republika Hrvatska ima dovoljno električne energije za svoje potrebe. Međutim, često dolazi do oscilacija u proizvodnji i potrošnji koje nisu ujednačene, a skladištenje električne energije je gotovo nemoguće, svakodnevno se dolazi u situaciju kupovine uvezene električne energije. Električnom energijom se danas trži kao svakom drugom robom na burzama. Kako bi se osigurao kontinuitet opskrbe za zadovoljenje svih potrošača danas je uvoz neminovan uz težnju ulaganja u vlastite kapacitete koji u budućnosti mogu pratiti trendove povećane potrošnje električne energije i povećavati bruto nacionalni dohodak smanjenjem uvoza., Electricity has been used throughout history to facilitate everyday life and improve living conditions. Today, meeting the basic necessities of life certainly includes the use of electricity we use to prepare meals, to heat and cool the rooms we live in, to power the work stands we work with, to illuminate homes, work rooms and entire cities with public lighting. In the last decades, the consumption of electricity has been increasing, so it is necessary to ensure its sufficient quantities for everything to function properly. Production capacities of the Republic of Croatia are limited. In conditions of moderate consumption and favorable weather conditions when hydro power plants can use all their capacities, thermal power plants are in operation, the electricity produced from the Krško Nuclear Power Plant is freely taken over, and other renewable energy sources are used. The Republic of Croatia has sufficient electricity for its needs. However, there are often fluctuations in production and consumption that are not uniform, and electricity storage is almost impossible, every day you get into the situation of buying imported electricity. Electricity is marketed today like any other commodity on the stock exchanges. In order to ensure continuity of supply to satisfy all consumers, imports are inevitably driven by investment in their own capacities, which in the future can follow trends in increased electricity consumption and increase gross national income by reducing imports.

Cilj moje teme završnog rada bio je upoznati se s izmjeničnom (AC) strujom koja se iz mreže preko trafostanice dovodi do same punionice električnih vozila. AC struja prenosi se elektroenergetskim vodovima, pomoću standardnih električnih utičnica u većini dijelova Europe te iznosi 230V, 50Hz. Električna energija putuje od elektrane do punionice kroz sustav koji se naziva mreža za distribuciju električne energije. Vrlo bitan pojam kod AC struje je faktor snage i njegova kompenzacija u energetskim mrežama. Nizak faktor snage stvara problem u energetskim sustavima, pa se sustavi poboljšavaju ispravljanjem faktora snage PFC (Power Factor Correction). Generirani viši harmonici povećavaju ukupno harmonijsko izobličenje THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) i negativno utječu na rad pojedinih elemenata punionice. The aim of my topic of the final paper was to get acquainted with the alternating current (AC) that is brought from the network through the substation to the charging station of electric vehicles. AC current is transmitted by power lines, using standard electrical outlets in most parts of Europe and is 230V, 50Hz. Electricity travels from the power plant to the charging station through a system called the electricity distribution network. A very important concept in AC current is the power factor and its compensation in power grids. Low power factor creates a problem in power systems, so systems are improved by correcting Power Factor Correction (PFC). The generated higher harmonics increase the total harmonic distortion of THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) and negatively affect the operation of individual elements of the charging station.

Four-wire low-voltage microgrids supply one-phase consumers with electricity, responding to a continuously changing demand. For addressing climate change concerns, national governments have implemented incentive schemes for residential consumers, encouraging the installation of home PV panels for covering self-consumption needs. In the absence of adequate storage capacities, the surplus is sold back by these entities, called prosumers, to the grid operator or, in local markets, to other consumers. While these initiatives encourage the proliferation of green energy resources, and ample research is dedicated to local market designs for prosumer–consumer trading, the main concern of distribution network operators is the influence of power flows generated by prosumers’ surplus injection on the operating states of microgrids. The change in power flow amount and direction can greatly influence the economic and technical operating conditions of radial grids. This paper proposes a metaheuristic algorithm for prosumer surplus management that optimizes the power surplus injections using the automated control of three-phase inverters, with the aim of reducing the active power losses over a typical day of operation. A case study was performed on two real distribution networks with distinct layouts and load profiles, and the algorithm resulted efficient in both scenarios. By optimally distributing the prosumer generation surplus on the three phases of the network, significant loss reductions were obtained, with the best results when the generated power was injected in an unbalanced, three-phase flow.

The transition to a cleaner and smarter electricity system is being spurred by new policy approaches aiming at delivering a decentralized, digital, and decarbonized energy future. This calls for the adaptation of incumbent technologies, policies, and actors, as well as for the introduction of new system components. The changing role of electricity distribution systems, and of distribution system operators, has been a focal aspect of recent market design efforts, given the critical role of network infrastructure and the importance to adjust its operations, and regulatory framework. We build on a novel dataset from 124 DSOs and apply a methodology combining Factor analysis and a Tobit model to evaluate the role of market, regulatory, investment, and firm-level factors on technological, business model, and market design adaptation. Our results indicate that hybrid regulatory models contribute to DSOs adaptation. Investing in smart grids is found to have a positive effect on adaptation. Regarding firm-level characteristics, the results indicate that unbundling does not affect adaptation, however larger DSOs are found to be better able to adapt. These findings provide timely empirical evidence for advancing regulatory and policy approaches toward the adaptation of incumbents in a rapidly changing electricity sector.

Russia is the first and thus far only country that has separated ownership of electricity distribution and transmission and then, a few years later, reunified these services under one company. We examine the impact of these changes on the quality of service in electricity networks and the operating costs of electricity distribution companies. We find no evidence that ownership unbundling increased the service quality in electricity networks. Furthermore, our results indicate that ownership unbundling resulted in higher operating costs for electricity distribution companies. This study thus contributes to discussion on the importance of the balance of structural remedies and transparent independent regulation in the development of competitive energy markets in emerging market economies. Post-print / Final draft

The productive efficiency of a firm can be decomposed into two parts, one persistent and one transient. This distinction seems to be appealing for regulators. During the last decades, public utilities such as water and electricity have witnessed a wave of regulatory reforms aimed at improving efficiency through incentive regulation. Most of these regulation schemes use benchmarking, namely measuring companies' efficiency and rewarding them accordingly. Focusing on electricity distribution, we sketch a theoretical model to show that an imperfectly informed regulator may not disentangle the two parts of the cost efficiency. Therefore, the regulator may fail to set optimal efficiency targets, which also undermines quality. We then provide evidence on the presence of persistent and transient efficiency using data on 28 New Zealand electricity distribution companies between 2000 and 2011. First, we estimate a total cost function by means of traditional stochastic frontier models for panel data. These come up with an estimation of the persistent part or the transient part of the cost efficiency. Finally, we use the more recent generalized true random effects model that allows for the simultaneous estimation of both transient and persistent efficiency. We also find some evidence that persistent efficiency is associated to higher quality, and wrong efficiency targets are associated to lower quality compliance.

Electricity transmission and distribution (T&D) plays a vital role in society by connecting electricity producers and consumers. We present a life cycle assessment case study of electricity delivery to consumers in Nord-Trøndelag county in Norway. We use a coherent framework for assessing electricity transfer via all the main segments of the Norwegian T&D system (local distribution, regional transmission and main national transmission grids). The assessment covers impacts associated with production, transport, and installation of components, power grid losses, and losses of sulphur hexafluoride. The results indicate that for electricity that is transmitted through the three main T&D grid segments, and assuming a Norwegian electricity mix when modelling the effects of power losses, the total carbon footprint of electricity T&D is 7.8 kg CO2-eq/MW h. Local distribution holds the largest share of this total (∼60%), while regional transmission and national transmission both make smaller but significant contributions (∼20% each). When classifying impacts as being attributable to either power grid losses or to other processes (e.g., materials and component manufacturing), both power losses and other processes contribute significantly to total impact potentials. Power losses are responsible for 30–43% of the combined electricity T&D impact potentials for climate change, particulate matter, smog-creation and acidification, 21–28% for toxicity and eutrophication, and 14% for metal depletion. For all categories except metal depletion, the relative importance of power losses increases appreciably if Nordic or particularly European electricity is assumed, however. Finally, we compare the environmental impacts of electricity T&D with that of electricity generation. The results of the comparison show that electricity T&D causes fewer impacts than electricity generation, but T&D impacts are not negligible; this is true regardless of what electricity mix is assumed when modelling power losses. © 2016. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

The main purpose of this study is to present an alternative benchmarking approach that can be used by national regulators of utilities. It is widely known that the lack of sizeable data sets limits the choice of the benchmarking method and the specification of the model to set price controls within incentive-based regulation. Ill-posed frontier models are the problem that some national regulators have been facing. Maximum entropy estimators are useful in the estimation of such ill-posed models, in particular in models exhibiting small sample sizes, collinearity and non-normal errors, as well as in models where the number of parameters to be estimated exceeds the number of observations available. The empirical study involves a sample data used by the Portuguese regulator of the electricity sector to set the parameters for the electricity distribution companies in the regulatory period of 2012-2014. DEA and maximum entropy methods are applied and the efficiency results are compared.

This paper examines optimal price (i.e. 'sliding scale') regulation of a monopoly when productivity and managerial effort are not observed. We show generally how to operationalize this model of incentive regulation and use actual data from electricity distribution in England and Wales to estimate key parameters and make welfare comparisons of sliding scale regulation with a stylized price cap regime and the First-Best (the full information case). Our method enables us to quantify technical uncertainty as faced by the electricity regulator in the 1990s and shows that there are significant welfare gains from a sliding scale relative to the stylized price cap regime. Copyright 2007 , Oxford University Press.

The objective of the study is to: (i) assess the adequacy of the existing heat and electricity tariff levels for achieving financial viability of the energy sector operators; (ii) analyze the distributional implications of energy tariff increases; and (iii) assess the effectiveness of the existing social assistance programs and how to adjust them to mitigate the impact of energy tariff increase on the poor This report presents the key findings and recommendations for the Government of Moldova as well as other energy sector stakeholders. The report starts with a synopsis that summarizes the key findings and recommendations. The main report section starts with an introduction to country context, presents the design of tariff setting methodologies, and assesses the adequacy of tariffs based on constructed scenarios. Thereafter analysis of the distributional impact of projected range of tariff increases and the need to adjust the social assistance programs to mitigate the impact on the poor are presented. The report concludes with recommendations for the government on actions to be implemented on tariff setting methodologies and social assistance as well as areas for further research. Appendices include further background information of the analysis.

This paper presents new data on electricity connections for businesses in 183 economies. The data cover information on procedures, time, and cost that a small or medium size business with a moderate electricity need has to invest to obtain a new electricity connection. The study finds significant variation in the time and cost to obtain such an electricity connection across countries. In low-income countries, for instance, it takes on average nearly twice as long as in high-income countries to connect a new customer to electricity, while the cost associated with a comparable connection is 70 times higher. The study finds that the poor performance of distribution utilities in low-income countries cannot only be explained by differences in income levels. The overall level of bureaucracy appears to be another important factor. The study also finds the data to be correlated with existing measures of the effectiveness of the electricity sector, suggesting that the hurdles related to obtaining an electricity connection mirror other problems in the sector, such as the quality of electricity supply and the incidence of bribe payments. Finally, the study finds that electricity connections affect firm performance. Simpler and less costly electricity connection processes are associated with better firm performance, in particular in industries with high electricity needs, such as manufacturing motor vehicles.

The World Bank Group has committed to achieving universal access to electricity by 2030 under the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative. This is a daunting challenge: more than 1 billion people do not have access, and another 1 billion have chronically inadequate or unreliable service. Most of those without access are poor, and the largest share is in Sub-Saharan Africa. Achieving universal access within 15 years for the low-access countries (those with under 50 percent coverage) requires a quantum leap from their present pace of 1.6 million connections per year to 14.6 million per year until 2030. The investment needed would be about $37 billion per year, including erasing generation deficits and meeting demand from economic growth. By comparison, in recent years, low-access countries received an average of $3.6 billion per year for their electricity sectors from public and private sources, including $1.5 billion per year from the World Bank Group. Development outcomes of the Bank Group’s assistance were generally favorable compared with other infrastructure sectors. However, performance in improving financial viability of country electricity sectors was below expectations. There were significant gaps in the Bank Group’s coverage of low-access countries, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Median implementation time of World Bank investment projects was nine years, with time overruns attributable to inadequate project design and borrower capacity. Support for off-grid electrification was low and sporadic, with a few notable exceptions. The Bank Group’s growing non-conventional renewable energy portfolio is dealing with technology and regulatory challenges. Tracking welfare and gender impacts in World Bank projects has improved, and International Finance Corporation (IFC) has made a beginning in addressing these issues. The Bank made some significant pilot contributions to addressing the affordability of electricity connections. Collaboration grew among World Bank, IFC, and MIGA through joint projects, which helps break ground for the private sector in some high-risk and fragile countries, and supports a few large and complex projects. The scale of the SE4All challenge requires the Bank Group to reposition itself as a global solutions provider in the sector, going well beyond the confines of its own direct support for access. This evaluation points to the urgency for the Bank Group‘s energy practice to adopt a new and transformative strategy to help country clients orchestrate a national, sustained sector-level engagement for universal access. A major challenge in this effort is to deploy the Bank Group units’ individual and collective strengths beyond Bank Group–led projects and transactions to stimulate private sector investments for closing the financing gap, especially in generation, for low-access countries.

About 70 percent of electricity users in Southeastern Turkey are not used to paying for electricity, partially due to the protracted situation of conflict and lack of trust between citizens and the government in the region. Historic tension throughout the 1990s caused an inability for the government to invest in electricity infrastructure and has resulted in low service quality. A large portion of consumers did not pay for electricity use at all, since full electrification of these regions did not take place until the 1980s. This has also resulted in wasteful and non-sustainable patterns of electricity use behavior. The social compact pilot implemented in two provinces in this region, Mardin and Sanliurfa, set up stakeholder committees representing urban and rural communities to forge and sustain a dialogue between the consumers and the electricity company on increased electricity payment and improved service quality. The stakeholder committees came up with a joint stakeholder committee strategic plan to address payment, service quality and communication issues. Moving forward, the electricity company will institutionalize the stakeholder committee meetings, and start implementing portions of the strategic plan, starting with an energy efficiency educational campaign and improving its grievance redress mechanism. This is the beginning of a process to increase popular trust in and dialogue with formal institutions in a region marked by a protracted conflict and a deep distrust in the state and formal institutions.

It has been more than two decades since the widespread initiation of global power sector reforms and restructuring. However, empirical evidence on the intended microeconomic, macroeconomic, and quality-related impacts of reforms across developing countries is lacking. This paper comprehensively reviews the empirical and theoretical literature on the linkages between power sector reforms, economic and technical efficiency, and poverty reduction. The review finds that the extent of power sector reforms has varied across developing countries in terms of changes in market structures, the role of the state, and the regulation of the sector. Overall, the reforms have improved the efficiency and productivity in the sector among many reforming countries. However, the efficiency gains have not always reached the end consumers because of the inability of sector regulators and inadequate regulatory frameworks. Reforms alleviate poverty and promote the welfare of the poor only when the poor have access to electricity. From a policy-making perspective, this implies that the reforms need to be supplemented with additional measures for accelerating electrification to help the poor.

South Asian countries, facing challenges in efficiently meeting growing electricity demand, can benefit from increased cross-border electricity cooperation and trade by harnessing complementarities in electricity demand patterns, diversity in resource endowments for power generation, and gains from larger market access. The region has witnessed slow progress in expanding regional electricity cooperation and trade, and undertaking needed domestic sector reforms. Although bilateral electricity sector cooperation in the region is increasing, broader regional cooperation and trade initiatives have lagged in the face of regional barriers and domestic sector inefficiencies. Deeper electricity market reforms are not a necessity for further development of cross-border electricity trade, but limited progress in overcoming regional and domestic barriers will limit the scope of the regional market and the benefits it can provide.

There has been a clear need for energy-efficient (EE) technologies that can be applicable in the municipal street lighting sector. The objective of this manual is to support the preparation and implementation of street lighting projects in India, using performance contracting and other public private partnership-based delivery approaches. This manual draws upon global best practices, including practices that have been tried and presented within India and South Asia; and draws from their failures and successes to document the major lessons learned. The manual provides a brief overall background of EE in India, the kind of barriers faced in the implementation of EE projects, and the kind of prevalent policy environment for EE in the country. The manual is divided into eight sections. Section one provides an overview of EE street lighting, its components, Indian standards for outdoor lighting, the key lamp technologies, and the potential for intelligent street lighting systems. Section two highlights the financial models for implementation of street lighting projects. Section three describes the essentials of undertaking a detailed energy audit to develop robust baselines. Section four focuses on procurement and contracting. Section five describes methodologies for developing monitoring and verification (M and V) protocols for EE Street lighting projects. Section six brings together the useful tools and matrices in implementation of street lighting projects. Section seven lists the key stakeholders involved in India in such projects and their potential role. Section eight provides details on international and Indian case studies on implementing EE in street lighting and key lessons from these case examples.

With an installed capacity greater than 137 gigawatts (GWs) worldwide and annual additions of about 40 GWs in recent years, solar photovoltaic (PV) technology has become an increasingly important energy supply option. A substantial decline in the cost of solar PV power plants (80 percent reduction since 2008) has improved solar PV’s competitiveness, reducing the needs for subsidies and enabling solar to compete with other power generation options in some markets. The World Bank Group (including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) helps client countries secure the affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy supply needed to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. The approach mirrors the objectives of the sustainable energy for all initiative - achieving universal access, accelerating improvements in energy efficiency, and doubling the global share of renewable energy by 2030. The World Bank Group recognizes that each country determines its own path for achieving its energy aspirations, and that each country’s transition to a sustainable energy sector involves a unique mix of resource opportunities and challenges, prompting a different emphasis on access, efficiency, and renewable energy. The objective of this guidebook is to enhance the reader’s understanding of how to successfully develop, finance, construct, and operate utility-scale solar PV power plants. The guidebook focuses on aspects of project development that are specific to solar. From this perspective it covers all aspects of the overall project development process including site identification, plant design, energy yield, permits and licenses, contractual arrangements, and financing, giving sparser coverage to general project development basics that are not specific to solar. This guide covers the key building blocks to developing a successful utility-scale solar power project (the threshold for utility-scale depends on the market, but generally at least 5 megawatt (MW).

This report presents findings from 208 focus group discussions held across 8 countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia between 2013-2014 that examined households experiences with and attitudes to energy tariff reforms. Over the past five years, the World Bank has provided guidance to more than 14 countries in the region on implementing energy subsidy reforms. This work complements a large body of research on the poverty impacts of these reforms. Specifically, it gives voice to poor and middle-income citizens, and presents their perspectives and concerns with regard to rising tariffs and reforms in the energy sector overall. The report argues that by gaining a deeper understanding of the narratives that people attach to energy issues, governments can design better mitigation policies to address the reforms adverse impacts; better communication campaigns to convey the rationale of reforms to the public; and institute stronger accountability measures to help citizens protect their rights as consumers. This report examines poverty and social impacts of energy tariff reforms in the ECA region from citizens perspectives. It aims to complement previously collected quantitative data on distributional impacts of reforms, and contribute to the design of socially sustainable energy policies and effective mitigation measures. It presents qualitative research findings that highlight: (i) factors affecting household vulnerability to energy tariff increases; (ii) insights into how households cope with increasing energy prices; (iii) experiences with and perceptions of energy sector institutions and, more specifically, interactions with energy service providers; (iv) experiences with social assistance programs and overall attitudes toward measures that make energy more affordable; and (v) consumer attitudes toward energy sector reforms overall.

In recent decades, many countries have embarked on structural reform programs involving private sector participation (PSP) across the entire value chain of the power sector. Often as part of a broader market oriented reform program, governments have resorted to PSP in transmission and distribution (T and D) for a variety of reasons, including to: (i) offset years of underinvestment and poor operating performance under public ownership; (ii) attract considerable private investment to fill the financing gap stemming from new T and D additions amid rapidly growing demand for electricity; and (iii) raise fiscal revenues by offloading state assets. In some cases (for example, Brazil and Peru), a prolonged electricity supply crisis prompted government into structural reforms of the T and D sector. The energy sector management assistance program (ESMAP) study covers PSP in transmission, as well as distribution. The four case-study countries, Brazil, Peru, Philippines, and Turkey were selected based on the substantial transmission story under their broader electricity PSP experience.

Worldwide, hydropower is a crucial power supply option for several reasons. First, it is a renewable energy resource that can contribute to sustainable development by generating local, typically inexpensive power. Second, hydropower reduces reliance on imported fuels that carry the risks of price volatility, supply uncertainty and foreign currency requirements. Third, hydro systems can offer multiple co-benefits including water storage for drinking and irrigation, drought-preparedness, flood control protection, aquaculture and recreational opportunities, among others. Finally, hydro can allow more renewables, especially wind and solar, to be added to the system by providing rapid-response power when intermittent sources are off-line, and pumped energy storage when such sources are generating excess power. For more publications on IFC Sustainability please visit www.ifc.org/sustainabilitypublications.

Since the 1990s, most states in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) have embarked on energy sector reforms. These have included removing subsidies, which has resulted in increased end-user costs for energy. The research presented here comprises an integral part of a set of qualitative studies on poverty and social impacts of energy subsidy reforms. In particular, it examines what it means for energy subsidy reforms to be more gender sensitive. The purpose of this research is to illustrate the extent to which energy subsidy reforms in the ECA region differently impact men and women. Prior global studies on gender and energy suggest that men and women have different priorities when it comes to energy use; that the reforms may have unequal effects on their well-being; that they face different challenges in interacting with energy providers or social assistance institutions; and may have different views on and knowledge of policy reforms. The target audience for this study is development practitioners, public officials, and civil society actors involved in social sustainability and the communications aspects of energy reform policies.

The study aimed to investigate and obtain model values of system unavailability and cost of energy not supplied in existing Nigerian township electricity distributions using a robust representative system. Outage data was obtained from system records for analysis using frequency distribution statistics to identify the causes of outages, and the contribution of each cause of outage to the overall system outage. The cost of energy not supplied (CENS) due to faults, was evaluated at a rate of NGN6 per kWHr. An analysis of the results shows that in a distribution feeder (and system) unavailability is mainly due to load shedding arising and faults; feeder unavailability involving load shedding is 0.25, and 0.1 without load shedding. Compared with standard UA value for well managed systems of less than or 0.01, the obtained unavailability values for a feeder show that downtime management was poor, and the corresponding cost – prohibitive. In view of the regular load shedding on the feeders and poor downtime management, this study recommends a need to obtain model loadflow perspective of township electricity distribution to ascertain load carrying capacity, and the application of distribution automation system or other effective strategies to mitigate downtime.

Source at https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2017.1400900 Electricity distribution operators are regulated as monopolies around the world. Incentive regulation is further applied to relate their allowed revenues (revenue cap) to cost efficiency and investment. Incentive regulation varies cross countries and has evolved over time for individual countries. Norway is one of the first countries reforming the network distributors by incentive regulation. Using the long time series data, we evaluated the impact of the Norwegian regulation regimes on firms’ investment. The panel data model includes common time-varying factors to control firm heterogeneity. The cross-section dependence test is further employed to test the relationship between investment and revenue cap in different regulation regimes. The empirical findings confirm a dynamic pattern of investment behavior between regimes, in terms of both the unobserved common factors and the cross-section dependence between investment and revenue cap. This study provides an interesting solution for incentive evaluation and contributes to the management accounting literature in terms of econometric techniques.

The electricity reform in Colombia has exhibited gains in terms of reliability but its effects on firm efficiency and service quality have not been clear. Previous studies evaluating the performance of distribution companies after the reform have not found evidence of improvements, although large differences in efficiency have been found among firms. This suggests high inefficiency persistence and heterogeneity in the Colombian distribution sector. In this paper, we propose an extension of dynamic stochastic frontier models that accounts for unobserved heterogeneity in the inefficiency persistence and in the technology. The model incorporates total expenses, service quality and energy losses in an efficiency analysis of Colombian distributors over fifteen years after the reform. We identify the presence of high inefficiency persistence in the sector, and important differences between firms. In particular, rural companies and firms with small customers present low persistence and evidence the largest gains in efficiency during the period. However, increases in efficiency are only manifested during the last five years when the main improvements in service quality and energy losses are presented. Overall, inefficiency persistence, customer density and consumption density are found to be important criteria to be considered for regulatory purposes. Jorge E. Galán acknowledges from the Energy Policy Research Group at the University of Cambridge and the financial support Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, research project ECO2012-3401.

The Tool for Rapid Assessment of City Energy (TRACE) is used for conducting rapid assessments of energy use in cities. It helps prioritize sectors with significant energy savings potential, and identifies appropriate energy efficiency interventions across six sectors-transport, municipal buildings, water and waste water, public lighting, solid waste, and power and heat. It is a simple, low-cost, user-friendly, and practical tool that can be applied in any socioeconomic setting. This report is based on the implementation of the TRACE tool in Constanta in July 2013 and it outlines ideas on what the city could further do to improve its energy efficiency performance. It details the analysis carried out and the recommendations derived as a result, for district heating maintenance and upgrade, non-motorized transport, public transport development, parking restraint measures, municipal building benchmarking program, municipal buildings audit and retrofit, street lighting timing program, energy efficiency action plan and strategy, and awareness raising campaigns.

The Tool for Rapid Assessment of City Energy (TRACE) is used for conducting rapid assessments of energy use in cities. It helps prioritize sectors with significant energy savings potential, and identifies appropriate energy efficiency interventions across six sectors-transport, municipal buildings, water and waste water, public lighting, solid waste, and power and heat. It is a simple, low-cost, user-friendly, and practical tool that can be applied in any socioeconomic setting. While this work focuses on the growth poles in Romania, the analysis was limited to the boundary of the center city of Brasov, due to the difficulty of collecting individual indicators for all the constituent localities of a metropolitan area. The report details the analysis carried out and the recommendations derived as a result, for district heating maintenance and upgrade, non-motorized transport, public transport development, parking restraint measures, municipal buildings audit and retrofit, street lighting timing program, and active leakage of water and pressure management.

The Tool for Rapid Assessment of City Energy (TRACE) is used for conducting rapid assessments of energy use in cities. It helps prioritize sectors with significant energy savings potential, and identifies appropriate energy efficiency interventions across six sectors-transport, municipal buildings, water and waste water, public lighting, solid waste, and power and heat. It is a simple, low-cost, user-friendly, and practical tool that can be applied in any socioeconomic setting. This report is based on the implementation of the TRACE tool in Timisoara in April 2013 and outlines ideas on what the city could further do to improve its energy efficiency performance. It details the analysis carried out and the recommendations derived as a result, for district heating maintenance and upgrade, non-motorized transport, public transport development, parking restraint measures, municipal buildings audit and retrofit, street lighting timing program, and active leakage of water and pressure management.

The main impetus for this report (and for the reports prepared for the other six growth poles) is a request received from the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration. The request came within the context of on-going preparations for the 2014-2020 programming period, with energy efficiency being one the major themes of the Europe 2020 strategy, and a critical priority for all EU member countries. Within Romania, local authorities that will want to access energy efficiency funds under the 2014-2020 Regional Operational Program will need to first prepare energy efficiency strategies. The TRACE tool is specifically targeted at local authorities, and is a good instrument for drafting such strategies after the 1989 Revolution; Romania began its transition from a centralized system to a market-run economy. Today the country is a member of the European Union (EU) and NATO. After more than a decade of economic restructuring and political change, the country has taken significant steps to catch up with the economic performance of more developed EU countries. Although radical reforms brought about significant changes, the standard of living of Romanians is still behind the EU average. Cluj-Napoca (Cluj) is one of cities where such disparities are less pronounced, as the region is more developed and prosperous than most regions in the country. Cluj has developed quite well in the past few years, and it has become one of the most flourishing cities in the country, having a good growing potential. At present, the city is an important economic center, home to several local brands that have become famous nationwide as well as in Europe. Moreover, Cluj is known today as the 'capital' of the IT sector in the country, due to an aggressive expansion of this field in recent years.