IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/col/000425/008712.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Regulating the Electricity Sector in Latin America

Author

Listed:
  • Pablo Serra
  • Ronald Fischer

Abstract

During the past decade most Latin American countries reformed and liberalized their electric sectors. This paper examines these reforms, providing a critical examination of the effects. Late reformers learnt from the experience of earlier reforming countries, and in particular from the Chilean experience. This evolutionary process has meant less regulation of segments that are or can be made to be competitive (generation and commercial services) and more regulation of the non-competitive sectors (transmission and distribution) combined with the vertical disintegration of competitive and noncompetitive segments of the industry. Nevertheless, a market approach to generation must worry about the possibility of strategic behavior by generating companies. Some open questions remain, for example, how to solve the problem of the expansion of the transmission system and how to strike a balance between a regulator that has some freedom of action to react to unforeseen events, and the corresponding fear of regulatory takings.

Suggested Citation

  • Pablo Serra & Ronald Fischer, 2000. "Regulating the Electricity Sector in Latin America," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Fall 2000), pages 155-218, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:col:000425:008712
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://economia.lacea.org/contents.htm
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Catherine D. Wolfram, 1998. "Strategic Bidding in a Multiunit Auction: An Empirical Analysis of Bids to Supply Electricity in England and Wales," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 29(4), pages 703-725, Winter.
    2. Perry, Martin K., 1989. "Vertical integration: Determinants and effects," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 4, pages 183-255, Elsevier.
    3. Gilbert,Richard J. & Kahn,Edward P. (ed.), 1996. "International Comparisons of Electricity Regulation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521495905.
    4. Kaserman, David L & Mayo, John W, 1991. "The Measurement of Vertical Economies and the Efficient Structure of the Electric Utility Industry," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(5), pages 483-502, September.
    5. David M. Newbery, 1998. "Competition, Contracts, and Entry in the Electricity Spot Market," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 29(4), pages 726-749, Winter.
    6. Lee, Byung-Joo, 1995. "Separability Test for the Electricity Supply Industry," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 10(1), pages 49-60, Jan.-Marc.
    7. William M. Emmons, 1997. "Implications Of Ownership, Regulation, And Market Structure For Performance: Evidence From The U.S. Electric Utility Industry Before And After The New Deal," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(2), pages 279-289, May.
    8. Spiller, Pablo T, 1996. "Institutions and Commitment," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 5(2), pages 421-452.
    9. John Vickers, 1995. "Competition and Regulation in Vertically Related Markets," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 62(1), pages 1-17.
    10. Pablo T. Spiller & Carlo G. Cardilli, 1997. "The Frontier of Telecommunications Deregulation: Small Countries Leading the Pack," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 127-138, Fall.
    11. Economides, Nicholas, 1998. "The incentive for non-price discrimination by an input monopolist," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 271-284, May.
    12. Ennio Stacchetti, 1999. "Auction Design for the Colombian Electricity Market," Documentos de Trabajo 62, Centro de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Chile.
    13. Brunekreeft, Gert, 1997. "Open access vs. common carriage in electricity supply," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 225-238, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Alberto Chong & Florencio de, 2003. "The Truth about Privatization in Latin America," Yale School of Management Working Papers ysm436, Yale School of Management.
    2. Jamasb, Tooraj, 2006. "Between the state and market: Electricity sector reform in developing countries," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 14-30, March.
    3. Galetovic, Alexander & Muñoz, Cristián M., 2011. "Regulated electricity retailing in Chile," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 6453-6465, October.
    4. Martín Rossi, 2015. "Using Labor Productivity Change Estimates as an Input for X-Factors in Price-Cap Regulation," Working Papers 118, Universidad de San Andres, Departamento de Economia, revised Feb 2015.
    5. David Newbery, 2002. "Issues and options for restructuring electricity supply industries," Working Papers EP01, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    6. Jamasb, T., 2002. "Reform and Regulation of the Electricity Sectors in Developing Countries," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0226, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    7. Pietrosemoli, Licia & Rodríguez-Monroy, Carlos, 2019. "The Venezuelan energy crisis: Renewable energies in the transition towards sustainability," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 415-426.
    8. Dal Bo, Ernesto & Rossi, Martin A., 2007. "Corruption and inefficiency: Theory and evidence from electric utilities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(5-6), pages 939-962, June.
    9. M. Pollitt, 2004. "Electricity reform in Chile. Lessons for developing countries," Competition and Regulation in Network Industries, Intersentia, vol. 5(3), pages 221-263, September.
    10. Mota, R.L., 2004. "‘Comparing Brazil and USA electricity performance; what was the impact of privatisation?’," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0423, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    11. Pineau, Pierre-Olivier & Hira, Anil & Froschauer, Karl, 2004. "Measuring international electricity integration: a comparative study of the power systems under the Nordic Council, MERCOSUR, and NAFTA," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(13), pages 1457-1475, September.
    12. Finon, Dominique, 2006. "Incentives to invest in liberalised electricity industries in the North and South. Differences in the need for suitable institutional arrangements," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 601-618, March.
    13. Kumar, Shashwat, 2022. "Taking root: Independent Regulatory Agency model of regulation in Indian electricity sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    14. Adwoa Asantewaa & Tooraj Jamasb & Manuel Llorca, 2022. "Electricity Sector Reform Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Parametric Distance Function Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-29, March.
    15. Stern, J., 2000. "Electricity and telecommunications regulatory institutions in small and developing countries," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 131-157, September.
    16. Estache, Antonio & Rossi, Martin, 2004. "Have consumers benefited from the reforms in the electricity distribution sector in Latin America?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3420, The World Bank.
    17. Escobari, Diego, 2011. "A theoretical model of collusion and regulation in an electricity spot market," MPRA Paper 32178, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Amann, Edmund & Baer, Werner, 2005. "From the developmental to the regulatory state: the transformation of the government's impact on the Brazilian economy," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(2-3), pages 421-431, May.
    19. Pietrosemoli, Licia & Rodríguez Monroy, Carlos, 2013. "The impact of sustainable construction and knowledge management on sustainability goals. A review of the Venezuelan renewable energy sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 683-691.
    20. Ioannis N. Kessides, 2005. "The Challenges of Infrastructure Privatisation," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 3(1), pages 19-25, 04.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Growitsch, Christian & Müller, Gernot & Stronzik, Marcus, 2008. "Ownership Unbundling in der Gaswirtschaft: Theoretische Grundlagen und empirische Evidenz," WIK Discussion Papers 308, WIK Wissenschaftliches Institut für Infrastruktur und Kommunikationsdienste GmbH.
    2. Felix Höffler & Sebastian Kranz, 2011. "Imperfect legal unbundling of monopolistic bottlenecks," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 273-292, June.
    3. Mark Armstrong & David E.M. Sappington, 2006. "Regulation, Competition and Liberalization," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 44(2), pages 325-366, June.
    4. Christoph Bier & Dieter Schmidtchen, "undated". "„Golden-Gans“-Effekt, Preisdiskriminierungsgefahr und die Regulierung von Netznutzungsentgelten," German Working Papers in Law and Economics 2006-1-1137, Berkeley Electronic Press.
    5. Höffler, Felix & Kranz, Sebastian, 2011. "Legal unbundling can be a golden mean between vertical integration and ownership separation," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 576-588, September.
    6. Stephen P. King, 1997. "National Competition Policy," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 73(222), pages 270-284, September.
    7. Höffler, Felix & Kranz, Sebastian, 2007. "Legal Unbundling can be a Golden Mean between Vertical Integration and Separation," Bonn Econ Discussion Papers 15/2007, University of Bonn, Bonn Graduate School of Economics (BGSE).
    8. Russell Pittman, 2003. "Vertical Restructuring (or Not) of the Infrastructure Sectors of Transition Economies," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 5-26, March.
    9. Markus Ksoll, 2001. "Two stages of uniform delivered pricing and a monopolistic network in competitive electricity markets," ERSA conference papers ersa01p280, European Regional Science Association.
    10. Bier, Christoph & Schmidtchen, Dieter, 2006. ""Golden-Gans"-Effekt, Preisdiskriminierungsgefahr und die Regulierung von Netznutzungsentgelten," CSLE Discussion Paper Series 2006-01, Saarland University, CSLE - Center for the Study of Law and Economics.
    11. Alexander Galetovic, 2003. "Integración Vertical en el Sector Eléctrico: Una guía para el usuario (Vertical integration in the electricity sector)," Documentos de Trabajo 158, Centro de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Chile.
    12. Perez, Eloy, 2007. "A model of vertical integration and investment in generation capacity in electricity markets: The case of the bidding game," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 272-290, December.
    13. Brunekreeft, Gert, 2001. "Regulation and third-party discrimination in vertically related markets: The case of German electricity," Discussion Papers 74 [rev.], University of Freiburg, Institute for Transport Economics and Regional Policy.
    14. Fabra, Natalia & Toro, Juan, 2005. "Price wars and collusion in the Spanish electricity market," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 23(3-4), pages 155-181, April.
    15. repec:ers:journl:v:xv:y:2012:i:sie:p:157-194 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. John S. Heywood & Debashis Pal, 2004. "Successive Monopolies and Regulation in a Spatial Model," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 72(2), pages 167-178, March.
    17. Fetz, Aurelio & Filippini, Massimo, 2010. "Economies of vertical integration in the Swiss electricity sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1325-1330, November.
    18. Green, Richard, 2003. "Failing electricity markets: should we shoot the pools?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 155-167, September.
    19. Isabel Soares & Paula Sarmento, 2012. "Unbundling in the Telecommunications and the Electricity Sectors: How Far should it Go?," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4), pages 157-194.
    20. Tooraj Jamasb & Michael Pollitt, 2005. "Deregulation and R&D in network industries: the case of the electricity industry," Working Papers EPRG 0502, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    21. Crawford, Gregory S. & Crespo, Joseph & Tauchen, Helen, 2007. "Bidding asymmetries in multi-unit auctions: Implications of bid function equilibria in the British spot market for electricity," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 1233-1268, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    electric sector; competition; regulation; Latin America;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H32 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Firm
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities
    • O25 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Industrial Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:col:000425:008712. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: LACEA (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/laceaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.