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International Benchmarking in Electricity Distribution: A Comparison of French and German Utilities

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Author Info
Astrid Cullmann
Hélène Crespo
Marie-Anne Plagnet

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Abstract

In this paper we present an international cross-country benchmarking analysis for utility regulation of France and Germany, the two largest electricity distribution countries in Europe. We examine the relative performance of 99 French and 77 German distribution companies operating within two different market structures. This paper applies several parametric benchmarking approaches to assess the relative technical efficiency of the utilities, such as deterministic Corrected Ordinary Least Squares (COLS) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). Our base model uses the number of employees as a proxy for labor and network length as a proxy for capital as inputs. Units sold and the numbers of customers are considered as outputs. Our model variations and extensions analyze the effect of different characteristics of distribution areas (e.g. population density and the choice of investment in underground cable network). We find that utilities operating in urban areas feature higher efficiency scores and that investment in underground cables increase the technical efficiency of the distribution utilities.

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Paper provided by DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research in its series Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin with number 830.

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Length: 25 p.
Date of creation: 2008
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Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp830

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Related research
Keywords: International benchmarking; electricity distribution; parametric efficiency analysis;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities
L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
C40 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - General

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References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Christian von Hirschhausen & Astrid Cullmann & Andreas Kappeler, 2006. "Efficiency analysis of German electricity distribution utilities -- non-parametric and parametric tests," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 38(21), pages 2553-2566, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. William Greene, 2002. "Fixed and Random Effects in Stochastic Frontier Models," Working Papers 02-16, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  3. Christian Growitsch & Jamasb, T. & Pollitt, M., 2005. "Quality of Service, Efficiency and Scale in Network Industries: An analysis of European electricity distribution," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0538, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge. [Downloadable!]
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  4. Greene, William, 2005. "Reconsidering heterogeneity in panel data estimators of the stochastic frontier model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 126(2), pages 269-303, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Mehdi Farsi & Massimo Filippini, 2004. "Regulation and Measuring Cost-Efficiency with Panel Data Models: Application to Electricity Distribution Utilities," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 1-19, 08. [Downloadable!]
  6. Astrid Cullmann & Christian Hirschhausen, 2008. "Efficiency analysis of East European electricity distribution in transition: legacy of the past?," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 155-167, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Jamasb, T. & Pollitt, M., 2001. "International Benchmarking and Yardstick Regulation: An Application to European Electricity Utilities," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0115, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge. [Downloadable!]
  8. Greene, William H., 1990. "A Gamma-distributed stochastic frontier model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1-2), pages 141-163. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Estache, Antonio & Rossi, Martin A. & Ruzzier, Christian A., 2002. "The case for international coordination of electricity regulation : evidence from the measurement of efficiency in South America," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2907, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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