Optimising reform: the sustainability of electricity market liberalisation in less developed countries

摘要

Over the past 10-15 years, electricity markets have undergone radical liberalisation and privatisation throughout much of the world. Where these reforms have been adopted in Less Developed Countries (LDCs), they have been mainly, but not exclusively, initiated, directed and part financed by the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund, known collectively as the International Financial Institutions (IFIs). In many countries, enough time has now passed to allow for an in-depth assessment of these diverse liberalisation policies, which reached their peak in the late 1990s before suffering the setbacks of the Californian energy crisis and the demise of Enron. Nevertheless, market liberalisation and privatisation continue to be promoted as viable policy options for LDCs, ostensibly as a means to reduce fiscal burdens and provide much needed investment. This is, therefore, a good time to assess experience to date and the lessons to be drawn from it.