IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/aosoci/v37y2012i2p116-129.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The privatization of British Energy: Risk transfer and the state

Author

Listed:
  • Jupe, Robert

Abstract

Following the development of the New Right Agenda, Conservative Governments in Britain introduced incrementally an extensive privatization programme. This paper focuses on the failure of the last privatization of the Conservatives: British Energy, the company established to run the eight most modern nuclear power stations. A key argument used to justify the privatization of British Energy, the transfer of risk from the state to the private sector, is analyzed using the conceptual framework of the risk society thesis. The privatization led to the apparent transfer to the company of interrelated risks, particularly the nuclear liabilities risk. New Labor’s rescue of British Energy confirmed the reality, which was that residual responsibility for risk, especially the nuclear liabilities risk, remained with government. Despite the company’s collapse the Labor Government sought a market-based outcome, and in 2008 British Energy was sold to EDF, the French state-owned energy company. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the failure of risk transfer for public policy, drawing on insights provided by the risk society thesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Jupe, Robert, 2012. "The privatization of British Energy: Risk transfer and the state," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 116-129.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:37:y:2012:i:2:p:116-129
    DOI: 10.1016/j.aos.2011.12.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361368211001152
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.aos.2011.12.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mueller, F. & Carter, C., 2007. "`We are all managers now': Managerialism and professional engineering in UK electricity utilities," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-2), pages 181-195.
    2. Froud, Julie, 2003. "The Private Finance Initiative: risk, uncertainty and the state," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 567-589, August.
    3. Massimo Florio & Katiuscia Manzoni, 2004. "Abnormal returns of UK privatizations: from underpricing to outperformance," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 119-136.
    4. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    5. Steve R. Letza & Clive Smallman & Xiuping Sun, 2004. "Reframing privatisation: Deconstructing the myth of efficiency," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 37(2), pages 159-183, June.
    6. Hewlett, James G., 2005. "De-regulated electric power markets and operating nuclear power plants: the case of British energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(18), pages 2293-2297, December.
    7. Flemming, John & Mayer, Colin, 1997. "The Assessment: Public-Sector Investment," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 13(4), pages 1-11, Winter.
    8. Helm, Dieter, 2004. "Energy, the State, and the Market: British Energy Policy since 1979," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199270743.
    9. Ogden, S. G., 1995. "Transforming frameworks of accountability: The case of water privatization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(2-3), pages 193-218.
    10. David M. Newbery & Michael G. Pollitt, 1997. "The Restructuring and Privatisation of Britain's CEGB—Was It Worth It?," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 269-303, September.
    11. McSweeney, Brendan, 2009. "The roles of financial asset market failure denial and the economic crisis: Reflections on accounting and financial theories and practices," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 835-848, August.
    12. Ezzamel, Mahmoud & Willmott, Hugh & Worthington, Frank, 2008. "Manufacturing shareholder value: The role of accounting in organizational transformation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(2-3), pages 107-140.
    13. Power, Michael, 2009. "The risk management of nothing," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 849-855, August.
    14. Ogden, S. G., 1997. "Accounting for organizational performance: The construction of the customer in the privatized water industry," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 22(6), pages 529-556, August.
    15. Berry, A. J. & Capps, T. & Cooper, D. & Ferguson, P. & Hopper, T. & Lowe, E. A., 1985. "Management control in an area of the NCB: Rationales of accounting practices in a public enterprise," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 3-28, January.
    16. Morgan, Gareth, 1988. "Accounting as reality construction: Towards a new epistemology for accounting practice," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 477-485, August.
    17. Robert Jupe, 2009. "New Labour, Network Rail and the third way," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(5), pages 709-735, June.
    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. Johnstone, David & Havyatt, David, 2022. "Sophistry and high electricity prices in Australia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    2. Burke, Richard & Demirag, Istemi, 2015. "Changing perceptions on PPP games: Demand risk in Irish roads," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 189-208.
    3. Cooper, Christine, 2015. "Entrepreneurs of the self: The development of management control since 1976," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 14-24.
    4. Qu Deng & Hezun Li & Hong Yue, 2024. "Public–private partnership, cost of debt and accounting conservatism," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 432-482, March.
    5. Warren, Liz & Seal, Will, 2018. "Using investment appraisal models in strategic negotiation: The cultural political economy of electricity generation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 16-32.
    6. Alawattage, Chandana & Alsaid, Loai Ali, 2018. "Accounting and structural reforms: A case study of Egyptian electricity," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 15-35.

    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. Jupe, Robert & Funnell, Warwick, 2015. "Neoliberalism, consultants and the privatisation of public policy formulation: The case of Britain's rail industry," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 65-85.
    2. Morales, Jérémy & Gendron, Yves & Guénin-Paracini, Henri, 2014. "State privatization and the unrelenting expansion of neoliberalism: The case of the Greek financial crisis," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 423-445.
    3. Alawattage, Chandana & Alsaid, Loai Ali, 2018. "Accounting and structural reforms: A case study of Egyptian electricity," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 15-35.
    4. Ferry, Laurence & Zakaria, Zamzulaila & Zakaria, Zarina & Slack, Richard, 2018. "Framing public governance in Malaysia: Rhetorical appeals through accrual accounting," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 170-183.
    5. Jupe, Robert, 2009. "A “fresh start” or the “worst of all worlds”? A critical financial analysis of the performance and regulation of Network Rail in Britain’s privatised railway system," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 175-204.
    6. Monika Wieczorek-Kosmala & Joanna Błach & Joanna Trzęsiok, 2018. "Analysis of Bankruptcy Threat for Risk Management Purposes: A Model Approach," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-17, December.
    7. Hunt, Chris & Dunstan, Keitha, 2008. "Why do Queensland Urban Water Entities Resist the Adoption of User Pays Pricing?," Working Paper Series 19100, Victoria University of Wellington, The New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation.
    8. McSweeney, Brendan, 2009. "The roles of financial asset market failure denial and the economic crisis: Reflections on accounting and financial theories and practices," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 835-848, August.
    9. Lauwo, Sarah & Otusanya, Olatunde Julius, 2014. "Corporate accountability and human rights disclosures: A case study of Barrick Gold Mine in Tanzania," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 91-108.
    10. repec:vuw:vuwscr:19100 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Simshauser, P., 2022. "On dividends and market valuations of Australia’s listed electricity utilities: regulated vs. merchant," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2229, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    12. Passetti, Emilio & Rinaldi, Leonardo, 2020. "Micro-processes of justification and critique in a water sustainability controversy: Examining the establishment of moral legitimacy through accounting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(3).
    13. Bakre, Owolabi M. & Lauwo, Sarah, 2016. "Privatisation and accountability in a “crony capitalist” Nigerian state," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 45-58.
    14. Mehmet Ugur & David Sunderland (ed.), 2011. "Does Economic Governance Matter?," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14356.
    15. Paul Simshauser, 2022. "On dividends and market valuations of Australia’s listed electricity utilities: regulated vs. merchant," Working Papers EPRG2210, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    16. Brian Shapiro & Michael Naughton, 2015. "The Expression of Espoused Humanizing Values in Organizational Practice: A Conceptual Framework and Case Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(1), pages 65-81, January.
    17. Chris Hunt & Dunstan, Keitha, 2008. "Why do Queensland Urban Water Entities Resist the Adoption of User Pays Pricing?," Working Paper Series 3999, Victoria University of Wellington, The New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation.
    18. Oakes, Helen & Berry, Anthony, 2009. "Accounting colonization: Three case studies in further education," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 343-378.
    19. Arena, Marika & Arnaboldi, Michela & Azzone, Giovanni, 2010. "The organizational dynamics of Enterprise Risk Management," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 659-675, October.
    20. A. Barretta & A. Riccaboni, 1998. "Internal Accounting Measurements and Information for External Parties: An Analysis of Their Relationship in the Italian Banking Sector," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 2(1), pages 71-99, March.
    21. Berry, A.J. & Coad, A.F. & Harris, E.P. & Otley, D.T. & Stringer, C., 2009. "Emerging themes in management control: A review of recent literature," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 2-20.

    More about this item

    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:eee:aosoci:v:37:y:2012:i:2:p:116-129. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/aos .

    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.