IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cam/camdae/1905.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Ownership Unbundling of Electricity Distribution Networks

Author

Listed:
  • Nillesen, P.
  • Pollitt, M.

Abstract

Traditional restructuring of power markets has focused on legally separating monopolistic transmission and distribution infrastructure, with sufficient regulatory oversight to ensure non-discriminatory access to networks, and transparent and cost-reflective tariffs. There is consensus that ownership separation for transmission assets is beneficial for competition and transparency. However, at the distribution level the benefits are questionable. This paper reviews the theoretical arguments for ownership unbundling and summarises the findings from 23 academic papers and consulting reports. In addition, this paper empirically demonstrates that forced distribution ownership unbundling in New Zealand (from 1998) and the Netherlands (from 2009) did not increase retail competition (and reduced it in New Zealand), did not increase network quality, but did result in significant one-off and structural costs. The pros and cons of DSO ownership unbundling is topical given current policy discussions in Denmark and the more general changes to the operating environment of DSOs with increasingly active networks due to decentralised renewables production and bi-directional power flows. Policymakers should therefore consider alternative policy measures to increase retail competition and network quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Nillesen, P. & Pollitt, M., 2019. "Ownership Unbundling of Electricity Distribution Networks," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1905, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    • Handle: RePEc:cam:camdae:1905
    Note: mgp20
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/research-files/repec/cam/pdf/cwpe1905.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mulder, M. & Willems, Bert, 2016. "Competition in Retail Electricity Markets : An Assessment of Ten Years Dutch Experience," Discussion Paper 2016-011, Tilburg University, Tilburg Law and Economic Center.
    2. Mehdi Farsi & Aurelio Fetz & Massimo Filippini, 2008. "Economies of Scale and Scope in Multi-Utilities," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4), pages 123-144.
    3. Slade, Margaret E, 1998. "Beer and the Tie: Did Divestiture of Brewer-Owned Public Houses Lead to Higher Beer Prices?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(448), pages 565-602, May.
    4. Greer, Monica L., 2008. "A test of vertical economies for non-vertically integrated firms: The case of rural electric cooperatives," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 679-687, May.
    5. John Kwoka & Michael Pollitt & Sanem Sergici, 2010. "Divestiture policy and operating efficiency in U.S. electric power distribution," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 86-109, August.
    6. Daisy Shen & Qing Yang, . "Electricity Market Regulatory Reform and Competition – Case Study of the New Zealand Electricity Market," Chapters, in: Yanrui Wu & Xunpeng Shi & Fukunari Kimura (ed.), Energy Market Integration in East Asia: Theories, Electricity Sector and Subsidies, chapter 6, pages 103-140, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    7. Baarsma, Barbara & de Nooij, Michiel & Koster, Weero & van der Weijden, Cecilia, 2007. "Divide and rule. The economic and legal implications of the proposed ownership unbundling of distribution and supply companies in the Dutch electricity sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 1785-1794, March.
    8. Maria Vagliasindi & John Besant-Jones, 2013. "Power Market Structure : Revisiting Policy Options," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 13115.
    9. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    10. Roland Meyer, 2011. "Vertical Economies and the Costs of Separating Electricity Supply-A Review of Theoretical and Empirical Literature," Bremen Energy Working Papers 0006, Bremen Energy Research.
    11. Kunneke, Rolf & Fens, Theo, 2007. "Ownership unbundling in electricity distribution: The case of The Netherlands," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 1920-1930, March.
    12. Fetz, Aurelio & Filippini, Massimo, 2010. "Economies of vertical integration in the Swiss electricity sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1325-1330, November.
    13. Yanrui Wu & Xunpeng Shi & Fukunari Kimura & Yu Sheng & Youngho Chang & Yanfei Li & Sun Xuegong & Guo Liyan & Zeng Zheng & Daisy Shen & Qing Yang & Kongchheng Poch & Savong Tuy & Sekar Utami Setiastuti, . "Energy Market Integration in East Asia: Theories, Electricity Sector and Subsidies," Books, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), number 2011-rpr-17 edited by Yanrui Wu & Xunpeng Shi & Fukunari Kimura, January-J.
    14. Machiel Mulder & Victoria Shestalova & Mark Lijesen, 2005. "Vertical separation of the energy-distribution industry; an assessment of several options for unbundling," CPB Document 84, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    15. Filippini, Massimo & Wetzel, Heike, 2014. "The impact of ownership unbundling on cost efficiency: Empirical evidence from the New Zealand electricity distribution sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 412-418.
    16. Giovanni Fraquelli & Massimiliano Piacenza & Davide Vannoni, 2005. "Cost Savings From Generation and Distribution with an Application to Italian Electric Utilities," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 289-308, November.
    17. Paul Nillesen & Michael Pollitt, 2011. "Ownership Unbundling in Electricity Distribution: Empirical Evidence from New Zealand," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 38(1), pages 61-93, January.
    18. Sinan Küfeoglu & Michael Pollitt & Karim Anaya, 2018. "Electric Power Distribution in the World: Today and Tomorrow," Working Papers EPRG 1826, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    19. Arocena, Pablo, 2008. "Cost and quality gains from diversification and vertical integration in the electricity industry: A DEA approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 39-58, January.
    20. Hay, Donald A & Liu, Guy S, 1997. "The Efficiency of Firms: What Difference Does Competition Make?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(442), pages 597-617, May.
    21. Geoff Bertram & Dan Twaddle, 2005. "Price-Cost Margins and Profit Rates in New Zealand Electricity Distribution Networks Since 1994: the Cost of Light Handed Regulation," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 281-308, January.
    22. Jara-Diaz, Sergio & Ramos-Real, Francisco Javier & Martinez-Budria, Eduardo, 2004. "Economies of integration in the Spanish electricity industry using a multistage cost function," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 995-1013, November.
    23. Michael G. Pollitt, 2018. "Electricity Network Charging in the Presence of Distributed Energy Resources: Principles, Problems and Solutions," Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1).
    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. Rabindra Nepal & John Foster & Antonio Carvalho, 2014. "Revisiting Electricity Liberalization and Security of Supply: Empirical Evidence," Energy Economics and Management Group Working Papers 7-2014, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    2. Paul Simshauser, 2020. "Merchant utilities and boundaries of the firm: vertical integration in energy-only markets," Working Papers EPRG2008, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    3. Pedro H. Perico E Santos & Olivier Massol, 2022. "Electricity Distribution Systems in Europe : An Overview of Contemporary Regulatory Challenges," Working Papers hal-03897936, HAL.

    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. Simshauser, P., 2020. "Merchant utilities and boundaries of the firm: vertical integration in energy-only markets," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2039, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    2. Goto, Mika & Inoue, Tomohiro & Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki, 2013. "Structural reform of Japanese electric power industry: Separation between generation and transmission & distribution," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 186-200.
    3. Gugler, Klaus & Liebensteiner, Mario & Schmitt, Stephan, 2017. "Vertical disintegration in the European electricity sector: Empirical evidence on lost synergies," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 450-478.
    4. Nardi, Paolo, 2012. "Transmission network unbundling and grid investments: Evidence from the UCTE countries," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 50-58.
    5. Sven Heim, Bastian Krieger, and Mario Liebensteiner, 2020. "Unbundling, Regulation, and Pricing: Evidence from Electricity Distribution," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Special I).
    6. Filippini, Massimo & Wetzel, Heike, 2014. "The impact of ownership unbundling on cost efficiency: Empirical evidence from the New Zealand electricity distribution sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 412-418.
    7. Roland Meyer, 2012. "Economies of scope in electricity supply and the costs of vertical separation for different unbundling scenarios," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 95-114, August.
    8. Simshauser, Paul, 2021. "Vertical integration, peaking plant commitments and the role of credit quality in energy-only markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    9. Fetz, Aurelio & Filippini, Massimo, 2010. "Economies of vertical integration in the Swiss electricity sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1325-1330, November.
    10. Thomas P. Triebs & David S. Saal & Pablo Arocena & Subal C. Kumbhakar, 2016. "Estimating economies of scale and scope with flexible technology," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 173-186, April.
    11. de Nooij, Michiel & Baarsma, Barbara, 2009. "Divorce comes at a price: An ex ante welfare analysis of ownership unbundling of the distribution and commercial companies in the Dutch energy sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 5449-5458, December.
    12. Philipp Steinbrunner, 2023. "I want a quiet life! On productivity and competition in the Central European energy sector," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(2), pages 403-428, April.
    13. Saha, Debalina & Bhattacharya, Rabindra N., 2019. "Analysis of the welfare implications of power-sector restructuring in West Bengal, India," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 62-71.
    14. Paul Nillesen & Michael Pollitt, 2011. "Ownership Unbundling in Electricity Distribution: Empirical Evidence from New Zealand," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 38(1), pages 61-93, January.
    15. Roland Meyer, 2012. "Vertical Economies and the Costs of Separating Electricity Supply--A Review of Theoretical and Empirical Literature," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4).
    16. Summanen, Tuomo & Arminen, Heli, 2018. "Ownership unbundling in electricity distribution: The Russian experience," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 1199-1210.
    17. Filippini, M. & Greene, W. & Masiero, G., 2018. "Persistent and transient productive inefficiency in a regulated industry: electricity distribution," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 325-334.
    18. Buchmann, Marius, 2017. "Governance of data and information management in smart distribution grids: Increase efficiency by balancing coordination and competition," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 63-72.
    19. Brunekreeft, Gert, 2015. "Network unbundling and flawed coordination: Experience from the electricity sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 11-18.
    20. Tsatsos, Aristidis, 2012. "Die Liberalisierung des russischen Gassektors: 3 Szenarios? [The liberalisation of the Russian gas sector: 3 scenarios?]," MPRA Paper 44623, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    electricity distribution; ownership unbundling;

    JEL classification:

    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:cam:camdae:1905. 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: Jake Dyer (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/ .

    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.