IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v97y2016icp145-154.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Context analysis for a new regulatory model for electric utilities in Brazil

Author

Listed:
  • El Hage, Fabio S.
  • Rufín, Carlos

Abstract

This article examines what would have to change in the Brazilian regulatory framework in order to make utilities profit from energy efficiency and the integration of resources, instead of doing so from traditional consumption growth, as it happens at present. We argue that the Brazilian integrated electric sector resembles a common-pool resources problem, and as such it should incorporate, in addition to the centralized operation for power dispatch already in place, demand side management, behavioral strategies, and smart grids, attained through a new business and regulatory model for utilities. The paper proposes several measures to attain a more sustainable and productive electricity distribution industry: decoupling revenues from volumetric sales through a fixed maximum load fee, which would completely offset current disincentives for energy efficiency; the creation of a market for negawatts (saved megawatts) using the current Brazilian mechanism of public auctions for the acquisition of wholesale energy; and the integration of technologies, especially through the growth of unregulated products and services. Through these measures, we believe that Brazil could improve both energy security and overall sustainability of its power sector in the long run.

Suggested Citation

  • El Hage, Fabio S. & Rufín, Carlos, 2016. "Context analysis for a new regulatory model for electric utilities in Brazil," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 145-154.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:97:y:2016:i:c:p:145-154
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2016.07.014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421516303676
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.07.014?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. Michael G. Pollitt & Irina Shaorshadze, 2011. "The Role of Behavioural Economics in Energy and Climate Policy," Working Papers EPRG1130, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    2. Littlechild, Stephen, 2014. "RPI-X, competition as a rivalrous discovery process, and customer engagement – Paper presented at the Conference The British Utility Regulation Model: Beyond Competition and Incentive Regulation?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 152-161.
    3. Michael G. Pollitt & Irina Shaorshadze, 2013. "The role of behavioural economics in energy and climate policy," Chapters, in: Roger Fouquet (ed.), Handbook on Energy and Climate Change, chapter 24, pages 523-546, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Depuru, Soma Shekara Sreenadh Reddy & Wang, Lingfeng & Devabhaktuni, Vijay, 2011. "Electricity theft: Overview, issues, prevention and a smart meter based approach to control theft," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 1007-1015, February.
    5. Sioshansi, Fereidoon P., 2006. "Electricity market reform: What has the experience taught us thus far?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 63-75, June.
    6. Cossent, Rafael & Gómez, Tomás & Frías, Pablo, 2009. "Towards a future with large penetration of distributed generation: Is the current regulation of electricity distribution ready? Regulatory recommendations under a European perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 1145-1155, March.
    7. Katrina Jessoe & David Rapson, 2014. "Knowledge Is (Less) Power: Experimental Evidence from Residential Energy Use," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(4), pages 1417-1438, April.
    8. Hirst, Eric & Blank, Eric & Moskovitz, David, 1994. "Alternative ways to decouple electric utility revenues from sales," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 7(6), pages 54-66.
    9. Schuelke-Leech, Beth-Anne & Barry, Betsy & Muratori, Matteo & Yurkovich, B.J., 2015. "Big Data issues and opportunities for electric utilities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 937-947.
    10. W. Kip Viscusi & Joseph E. Harrington & John M. Vernon, 2005. "Economics of Regulation and Antitrust, 4th Edition," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 4, volume 1, number 026222075x, December.
    11. Smith, Thomas B., 2004. "Electricity theft: a comparative analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(18), pages 2067-2076, December.
    12. Herring, Horace, 2006. "Energy efficiency—a critical view," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 10-20.
    13. Linares, P. & Santos, F.J. & Pérez-Arriaga, I.J., 2008. "Scenarios for the evolution of the Spanish electricity sector: Is it on the right path towards sustainability?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 4057-4068, November.
    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. Brandão, Roberto & Tolmasquim, Maurício T. & Maestrini, Marcelo & Tavares, Arthur Felipe & Castro, Nivalde J. & Ozorio, Luiz & Chaves, Ana Carolina, 2021. "Determinants of the economic performance of Brazilian electricity distributors," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Scalzer, Rodrigo S. & Rodrigues, Adriano & Macedo, Marcelo Álvaro da S. & Wanke, Peter, 2019. "Financial distress in electricity distributors from the perspective of Brazilian regulation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 250-259.

    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. Trotta, Gianluca, 2020. "An empirical analysis of domestic electricity load profiles: Who consumes how much and when?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    2. Costa-Campi, Maria Teresa & Daví-Arderius, Daniel & Trujillo-Baute, Elisa, 2018. "The economic impact of electricity losses," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 309-322.
    3. Dominika Czyz & Karolina Safarzynska, 2023. "Catastrophic Damages and the Optimal Carbon Tax Under Loss Aversion," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 85(2), pages 303-340, June.
    4. de Lauwere, Carolien & Slegers, Monique & Meeusen, Marieke, 2022. "The influence of behavioural factors and external conditions on Dutch farmers’ decision making in the transition towards circular agriculture," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    5. Häckel, Björn & Pfosser, Stefan & Tränkler, Timm, 2017. "Explaining the energy efficiency gap - Expected Utility Theory versus Cumulative Prospect Theory," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 414-426.
    6. Taekyoung Lim, 2020. "Using of Nudge Approaches for Sustainable Energy," International Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources, Juniper Publishers Inc., vol. 25(4), pages 193-198, September.
    7. Campiglio, Emanuele & Lamperti, Francesco & Terranova, Roberta, 2024. "Believe me when I say green! Heterogeneous expectations and climate policy uncertainty," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    8. Luciano Cavalcante Siebert & Alexandre Rasi Aoki & Germano Lambert-Torres & Nelson Lambert-de-Andrade & Nikolaos G. Paterakis, 2020. "An Agent-Based Approach for the Planning of Distribution Grids as a Socio-Technical System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-13, September.
    9. Rains, Emily & Abraham, Ronald J., 2018. "Rethinking barriers to electrification: Does government collection failure stunt public service provision?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 288-300.
    10. Martinangeli, Andrea & Zoli, Mariangela, 2013. "Exploring Environmentally Significant Behaviors in a Multidimensional Perspective," Working Papers in Economics 561, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    11. Alexandra Köves & Tamás Veress & Judit Gáspár & Réka Matolay, 2021. "Conceptualizing Cuvée Organizations: Characteristics Leading towards Sustainable Decision-Making Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-24, December.
    12. Jingchao, Zhang & Kotani, Koji & Saijo, Tatsuyoshi, 2019. "Low-quality or high-quality coal? Household energy choice in rural Beijing," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 81-90.
    13. Elbaz Shimon & Zaiţ Adriana, 2016. "Efficient Use of Behavioral Tools to Reduce Electricity Demand of Domestic Consumers," Scientific Annals of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 63(s1), pages 89-107, December.
    14. Saskia Lavrijssen & Arturo Carrillo Parra, 2017. "Radical Prosumer Innovations in the Electricity Sector and the Impact on Prosumer Regulation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-21, July.
    15. F. Knobloch & J. -F. Mercure, 2016. "The behavioural aspect of green technology investments: a general positive model in the context of heterogeneous agents," Papers 1603.06888, arXiv.org.
    16. Niamir, Leila & Filatova, Tatiana & Voinov, Alexey & Bressers, Hans, 2018. "Transition to low-carbon economy: Assessing cumulative impacts of individual behavioral changes," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 325-345.
    17. Valeria Di Cosmo & Sean Lyons & Anne Nolan, 2014. "Estimating the Impact of Time-of-Use Pricing on Irish Electricity Demand," The Energy Journal, , vol. 35(2), pages 117-136, April.
    18. Ahmad, Husnain Fateh & Ali, Ayesha & Meeks, Robyn C. & Plutshack, Victoria & Wang, Zhenxuan & Younas, Javed, 2024. "Breaking the culture of nonpayment: A qualitative analysis of utility intervention in Pakistan," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    19. Never, Babette, 2015. "Social norms, trust and control of power theft in Uganda: Does bulk metering work for MSEs?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 197-206.
    20. Spandagos, Constantine & Yarime, Masaru & Baark, Erik & Ng, Tze Ling, 2020. "“Triple Target” policy framework to influence household energy behavior: Satisfy, strengthen, include," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).

    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:97:y:2016:i:c:p:145-154. 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.