A programmatic perspective on asset management, from the national to the utility level -the case of Portugal

摘要

Water services are amongst the most capital intensive activities, with a very high capital-to-revenue ratio and a typical ex-post irreversibility of investment in physical assets. Hence, it is imperative to maximize the long term performance-to-cost ratio of assets, ensuring an adequate balance between operational sustainability, good service quality and total service provision costs over the long run. Evolving stakeholder expectations, namely increasing consumer awareness and involvement, and more challenging legal requirements on service quality and effectiveness, all reinforce the need for the adoption of more advanced management practices by water utilities.