Public Service Perspectives on Reforms of Electricity Distribution and Supply: A Modular Analysis

Abstract

This article analyzes organizational change in electricity distribution and retail businesses and its impact on public service issues. Organizational change has resulted from the European electricity directives, especially the EU Electricity directive 2003/54/EC, which has imposed major transformations on these activities, requiring legal unbundling of electricity distribution networks by 1 July 2007. Organizational change has also resulted from an adaptation of companies to the newly competitive environment. This has led to a diversity of organizational choices across Europe. We analyze this diversity by using a modular approach, which decomposes reforms in electricity distribution and retail into logical 'blocks'. We then examine how European countries have dealt with two policy and regulatory issues related to customer protection in that new environment: the regulation of quality of distribution, which is a task of regulators, and energy affordability policies for vulnerable customers, which are a central aspect of public service policies in the electricity sector.

Is Market-Oriented Reform Producing a ‘Two-Track’ Europe? Evidence From Electricity and Telecommunications

“…The UK was the reform pioneer in Europe; Margaret Thatcher set into motion an ambitious programme including liberalization, deregulation and privatization from the 1980s (Florio 2004). Intense reform of these sectors in Spain followed, during the 1990s, responding in particular to the requirements of the EC liberalization directives (Clifton et al 2006, 2007, Dubois and Saplacan 2010). Across Europe, reform came earlier and deeper in telecommunications than in electricity (Bance 2007).…”

The challenging paradigm of interrelated energy systems towards a more sustainable future

“…In this context, the organisational adaptation aspects of electricity distribution have been explored to a limited extent, despite the evident importance of facilitating organisational change and business model innovation as part of the energy transition [104][105][106][107]. Contributions from organisational adaptation-oriented research have focused mostly on the impacts of market liberalisation [107][108][109][110], whilst fewer efforts are visible on understanding the ability of DSOs to adapt to a smarter and more sustainable electricity sector [106], [111].…”

“…Contributions from organisational adaptation-oriented research have focused mostly on the impacts of market liberalisation [107][108][109][110], whilst fewer efforts are visible on understanding the ability of DSOs to adapt to a smarter and more sustainable electricity sector [106], [111].…”

Adaptability of competitive electricity reforms a modular analysis

“…tariffs which are different at each node A modular representation of electricity reforms (Sources:Hunt (2002);Wilson (1998;;Rious et al (2008)). 1 A detailed presentation of the second module concerning retail transactions can be found inDubois and Saplacan (2008).…”