IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v37y2009i11p4189-4207.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Electricity privatizations in Sahel: A U-turn?

Author

Listed:
  • Gualberti, Giorgio
  • Alves, Luis
  • Micangeli, Andrea
  • da Graça Carvalho, Maria

Abstract

This paper examines the process of privatization of electrical utilities for the country members of CILLS (Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad and Senegal). These Sahelian countries, the majority of whom rank at the bottom positions of the HDI and present extremely low access rates to modern energy services, together started a process of energy sector reform and energy utility privatization in the 1990s. The reforms, endorsed by the International Financial Institutions, focused on the privatization of the electrical utilities, and encountered many difficulties. The objective of this article is to analyze what happened in each of these nine countries and to understand the reasons that led to a general halt or reversal of the process. The analysis is first introduced by a brief examination of regional energy situations and of the international context in which the reforms took place; this includes the policy guidelines introduced by the IFIs and the investment decisions of energy corporations. We analyze management processes and ownership changes for each country. Finally, the article identifies the problems encountered as a result of reform design and the interaction of behaviors between the governments, the International Corporations and the IFIs; lastly, we draw conclusions.

Suggested Citation

  • Gualberti, Giorgio & Alves, Luis & Micangeli, Andrea & da Graça Carvalho, Maria, 2009. "Electricity privatizations in Sahel: A U-turn?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4189-4207, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:37:y:2009:i:11:p:4189-4207
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301-4215(09)00340-1
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    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. Banks, John P., 2006. "Privatization of the Electricity Sector in Emerging Markets: The Organizational Challenge for Governments," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(9), pages 45-54, November.
    2. Tonci Bakovic & Bernard Tenenbaum & Fiona Woolf, 2003. "Regulation by Contract : A New Way to Privatize Electricity Distribution?," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15078.
    3. Gabriele, Alberto, 2004. "Policy alternatives in reforming energy utilities in developing countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(11), pages 1319-1337, July.
    4. Rosenzweig, Michael B. & Voll, Sarah P. & Pabon-Agudelo, Carlos, 2004. "Power Sector Reform: Experiences from the Road," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 17(9), pages 16-28, November.
    5. Auriol, Emmanuelle & Blanc, Aymeric, 2009. "Capture and corruption in public utilities: The cases of water and electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 203-216, June.
    6. Karekezi, Stephen & Kimani, John, 2002. "Status of power sector reform in Africa: impact on the poor," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(11-12), pages 923-945, September.
    7. Wamukonya, Njeri, 2003. "Power sector reform in developing countries: mismatched agendas," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(12), pages 1273-1289, September.
    8. Yi-chong, Xu, 2006. "The myth of the single solution: electricity reforms and the World Bank," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 802-814.
    9. Bell, Matthew, 2003. "Regulation in developing countries is different: avoiding negotiation, renegotiation and frustration," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 299-305, March.
    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. Morgan Bazilian & Patrick Nussbaumer & Hans-Holger Rogner & Abeeku Brew-Hammond & Vivien Foster & Shonali Pachauri & Eric Williams & Mark Howells & Philippe Niyongabo & Lawrence Musaba & Brian Ó Galla, 2011. "Energy Access Scenarios to 2030 for the Power Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 2011.68, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    2. Trotter, Philipp A. & Maconachie, Roy & McManus, Marcelle C., 2018. "Solar energy's potential to mitigate political risks: The case of an optimised Africa-wide network," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 108-126.
    3. Andrea Micangeli & Riccardo Del Citto & Isaac Nzue Kiva & Simone Giovanni Santori & Valeria Gambino & Jeremiah Kiplagat & Daniele Viganò & Davide Fioriti & Davide Poli, 2017. "Energy Production Analysis and Optimization of Mini-Grid in Remote Areas: The Case Study of Habaswein, Kenya," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-23, December.
    4. Trotter, Philipp A. & McManus, Marcelle C. & Maconachie, Roy, 2017. "Electricity planning and implementation in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 1189-1209.
    5. Andrea Micangeli & Vincenzo Naso & Emanuele Michelangeli & Apollonia Matrisciano & Francesca Farioli & Nicola P. Belfiore, 2014. "Attitudes toward Sustainability and Green Economy Issues Related to Some Students Learning Their Characteristics: A Preliminary Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(6), pages 1-20, May.

    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. Gore, Christopher D. & Brass, Jennifer N. & Baldwin, Elizabeth & MacLean, Lauren M., 2019. "Political autonomy and resistance in electricity sector liberalization in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 193-209.
    2. Erdogdu, Erkan, 2007. "Regulatory reform in Turkish energy industry: An analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 984-993, February.
    3. Haselip, James & Hilson, Gavin, 2005. "Winners and losers from industry reforms in the developing world: experiences from the electricity and mining sectors," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 87-100, June.
    4. Haselip, James & Potter, Clive, 2010. "Post-neoliberal electricity market 're-reforms' in Argentina: Diverging from market prescriptions?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 1168-1176, February.
    5. Giorgio Gualberti & Morgan Bazilian & Erik Haites & Maria da Graça Carvalho, 2012. "Development Finance for Universal Energy Access," Working Papers 2012.12, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    6. Mahmud I Imam & Tooraj Jamasb & Manuel Llorca, 2019. "Political Economy of Reform and Regulation in the Electricity Sector of Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers EPRG1917, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    7. Tooraj Jamasb & Rabindra Nepal & Govinda R. Timilsina, 2017. "A Quarter Century Effort Yet to Come of Age: A Survey of Electricity Sector Reform in Developing Countries," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).
    8. Haanyika, Charles Moonga, 2006. "Rural electrification policy and institutional linkages," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(17), pages 2977-2993, November.
    9. Antonio Estache & L. Wren-Lewis, 2008. "Towards a Theory of Regulation for Developing Countries: Following Laffont's Lead," Working Papers ECARES 2008_018, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    10. Erdogdu, Erkan, 2011. "The impact of power market reforms on electricity price-cost margins and cross-subsidy levels: A cross country panel data analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1080-1092, March.
    11. Gratwick, Katharine Nawaal & Eberhard, Anton, 2008. "Demise of the standard model for power sector reform and the emergence of hybrid power markets," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 3948-3960, October.
    12. Mawhood, Rebecca & Gross, Robert, 2014. "Institutional barriers to a ‘perfect’ policy: A case study of the Senegalese Rural Electrification Plan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 480-490.
    13. Zainab Khalid & Muhammad Iftikhar-ul-Husnain, 2016. "Restructuring of WAPDA: A Reality or a Myth," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 349-360.
    14. Thibault Lemaire & Dina Ragab, 2020. "Power Sector Reforms and Technological Change: Evidence from Arab League Members," Working Papers hal-03948646, HAL.
    15. Gunther Bensch, 2019. "The effects of market-based reforms on access to electricity in developing countries: a systematic review," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 165-188, April.
    16. Sanya Carley & Sameeksha Desai & Morgan Bazilian, 2012. "Energy-Based Economic Development: Mapping the Developing Country Context," Working Papers 2012.25, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    17. Morgan Bazilian & Patrick Nussbaumer & Hans-Holger Rogner & Abeeku Brew-Hammond & Vivien Foster & Shonali Pachauri & Eric Williams & Mark Howells & Philippe Niyongabo & Lawrence Musaba & Brian Ó Galla, 2011. "Energy Access Scenarios to 2030 for the Power Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 2011.68, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    18. Hulya Dagdeviren, 2009. "Limits To Competition And Regulation In Privatized Electricity Markets," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 80(4), pages 641-664, December.
    19. Jacome, Veronica & Ray, Isha, 2018. "The prepaid electric meter: Rights, relationships and reification in Unguja, Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 262-272.
    20. Javadi, F.S. & Rismanchi, B. & Sarraf, M. & Afshar, O. & Saidur, R. & Ping, H.W. & Rahim, N.A., 2013. "Global policy of rural electrification," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 402-416.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Privatizations Electricity Sahel;

    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:enepol:v:37:y:2009:i:11:p:4189-4207. 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/enpol .

    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.