BOOK
Regulation of Urban Water Services. An Overview
Enrique Cabrera Marcet | Enrique Cabrera Jr
(2016)
Additional Information
Book Details
Abstract
Technical regulation of urban water services: The Portuguese regulatory model of water and wastewater services. An integrated approach; Experiences and conclusions from regulation in England and Wales; Experiences and conclusions from regulation in Australia; Experiences and conclusions from regulation in Denmark; Experiences and conclusions from regulation in Latin America; The German benchmarking experience. An alternative to regulation; The assessment of water services from the point of view of multilateral organizations. The experience of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); Regulation in Spain from the perspective of the urban water services; Reasons that justify the regulation of urban water services in Spain; Can a regulator contribute to solve the problems of the urban water cycle in Spain?; Regulatory models. Conclusions
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Cover | ||
| Contents | v | ||
| Foreword | xi | ||
| Summary of the contributions | xiii | ||
| 1. ENRIQUE CABRERA JR. (SPAIN) | xiii | ||
| 2. JAIME MELO BAPTISTA (PORTUGAL) | xiv | ||
| 3. MICHAEL ROUSE (UNITED KINGDOM) | xiv | ||
| 4. ANDREW SPEARS (AUSTRALIA) | xv | ||
| 5. JENS M. PRISUM (DENMARK) | xvi | ||
| 6. ANDREI JOURAVLEV (LATIN AMERICA) | xvii | ||
| 7. WOLF MERKEL AND NICOLE ANNETT MÜLLER (GERMANY) | xviii | ||
| 8. MATTHIAS KRAUSE AND MARÍA DEL ROSARIO NAVIA (INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, IDB) | xix | ||
| 9. ENRIQUE CABRERA (SPAIN) | xx | ||
| 10. FÉLIX PARRA (AQUALIA, SPAIN) | xx | ||
| Chapter 1: The need for the regulation of water services key factors involved | 1 | ||
| 1.1 THE NEED FOR REGULATION IN THE WATER SECTOR | 1 | ||
| 1.2 SINGULARITIES OF URBAN WATER SERVICES | 3 | ||
| 1.3 SERVICE LEVELS | 6 | ||
| 1.4 TECHNICAL REGULATION AND ECONOMIC REGULATION | 9 | ||
| 1.4.1 Protecting the interests of users in terms of obligations of a public service | 11 | ||
| 1.4.2 Promoting efficiency and innovation | 12 | ||
| 1.4.3 Ensuring stability, sustainability and solidity of water and sanitation services | 12 | ||
| 1.5 BASICS OF TECHNICAL REGULATION OF WATER SERVICES | 14 | ||
| 1.6 ANALYSIS OF PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT | 20 | ||
| 1.7 CONCLUSIONS | 23 | ||
| 1.8 REFERENCES | 23 | ||
| Chapter 2: Portuguese regulatory model for water and waste services: an integrated approach | 25 | ||
| 2.1 HOW IMPORTANT ARE WATER AND WASTE SERVICES? | 25 | ||
| 2.2 WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK? | 25 | ||
| 2.3 WHAT PUBLIC POLICIES FOR WATER AND WASTE SERVICES? | 26 | ||
| 2.4 WHAT IS THE ROLE OF REGULATION IN PUBLIC POLICIES? | 28 | ||
| 2.5 WHAT MUST BE THE REGULATORY APPROACH? | 28 | ||
| 2.5.1 Regulatory model | 28 | ||
| 2.5.2 Structural regulation of the sectors | 30 | ||
| 2.5.2.1 Regulatory contribution to the organisation of the sectors | 31 | ||
| 2.5.2.2 Regulatory contribution to the legislation of the sectors | 31 | ||
| 2.5.2.3 Regulatory contribution to the information of the sectors | 32 | ||
| 2.5.2.4 Regulatory contribution to the capacity building of the sectors | 32 | ||
| 2.5.3 Behavioural regulation of the utilities | 32 | ||
| 2.5.3.1 Legal and contractual regulation | 33 | ||
| 2.5.3.2 Economic regulation | 33 | ||
| 2.5.3.3 Quality of service regulation | 34 | ||
| 2.5.3.4 Drinking water quality regulation | 34 | ||
| 2.5.3.5 User interface regulation | 34 | ||
| 2.6 WHAT ARE THE CONCLUSIONS? | 35 | ||
| 2.7 BIBLIOGRAPHY | 37 | ||
| Chapter 3: Water regulation in the UK and its relevance to Spain | 39 | ||
| 3.1 INTRODUCTION | 39 | ||
| 3.2 HISTORY OF WATER INDUSTRY IN ENGLAND AND WALES UP TO 1989 | 40 | ||
| 3.3 SCOTLAND AND NORTHERN IRELAND | 43 | ||
| 3.4 THE DEVELOPMENT OF REGULATION IN ENGLAND AND WALES | 44 | ||
| 3.5 OFFICE OF WATER SERVICES (OFWAT) | 45 | ||
| 3.6 SOME KEY FACTORS IN ECONOMIC REGULATION | 47 | ||
| 3.6.1 Financing infrastructure | 47 | ||
| 3.6.2 Determining the efficiency factors | 48 | ||
| 3.6.3 Checking information | 48 | ||
| 3.7 THE DRINKING WATER INSPECTORATE | 49 | ||
| 3.7.1 The environment agency (EA) | 51 | ||
| 3.8 WATER CONSUMER COUNCIL | 54 | ||
| 3.9 EXPERIENCE OF A REGULATED WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICE SYSTEM SINCE ITS INTRODUCTION IN 1990 | 54 | ||
| 3.10 WATER BILL 2014 | 55 | ||
| 3.11 RELEVANCE TO SPAIN? | 60 | ||
| 3.12 REFERENCES | 62 | ||
| Chapter 4: Water regulation in Australia | 65 | ||
| 4.1 INTRODUCTION | 65 | ||
| 4.2 WATER RESOURCE CHARACTERISTICS | 66 | ||
| 4.3 CATALYSTS FOR REFORM | 69 | ||
| 4.4 COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS WATER REFORM FRAMEWORK 1994 | 70 | ||
| 4.5 THE NATIONAL WATER INITIATIVE | 71 | ||
| 4.5.1 The regulatory environment for water | 73 | ||
| 4.5.2 Institutional arrangements | 73 | ||
| 4.5.3 Water pricing | 76 | ||
| 4.5.3.1 Economic regulation | 78 | ||
| 4.5.4 Benchmarking | 79 | ||
| 4.5.5 Environmental and health regulation | 80 | ||
| 4.5.5.1 Water trading | 81 | ||
| 4.5.5.2 Water plans | 82 | ||
| 4.5.5.3 Water accounting | 83 | ||
| 4.5.6 Health regulation | 83 | ||
| 4.5.7 Diversification of supplies | 84 | ||
| 4.5.7.1 Water efficiency labelling and standards scheme | 85 | ||
| 4.5.8 Consumer protection | 85 | ||
| 4.6 ACHIEVEMENTS AND ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT | 85 | ||
| 4.7 FUTURE DIRECTIONS | 87 | ||
| 4.8 CONCLUSION | 90 | ||
| 4.9 REFERENCES | 91 | ||
| Chapter 5: Regulation of water services in Denmark – a utility manager’s perspective | 93 | ||
| 5.1 INTRODUCTION | 93 | ||
| 5.2 THE DANISH WATER SECTOR | 93 | ||
| 5.3 THE DANISH WATER SECTOR REFORM IN BRIEF | 94 | ||
| 5.4 PRICE CAP REGULATION ACCORDING TO THE WATER SECTOR LAW | 95 | ||
| 5.4.1 OPEX | 95 | ||
| 5.4.2 CAPEX | 97 | ||
| 5.5 THE DANVA BENCHMARKING SYSTEM | 97 | ||
| 5.6 COMPARISON OF BENCHMARKING SYSTEMS | 99 | ||
| 5.7 A UTILITY MANAGER’S EVALUATION OF THE REGULATION AND BENCHMARK IN GENERAL | 100 | ||
| 5.7.1 General observations | 100 | ||
| 5.7.2 Specific observations | 100 | ||
| 5.7.2.1 Keep it simple | 100 | ||
| 5.7.2.2 Include parameters other than financial | 101 | ||
| 5.7.2.3 Follow general principles of financial management | 101 | ||
| 5.7.2.4 Allow for time to plan and implement | 101 | ||
| 5.7.2.5 Utilities should develop a proactive attitude towards regulation | 101 | ||
| 5.7.2.6 The water sector reform is accepted | 101 | ||
| Chapter 6: Experiences and conclusions about regulation in Latin America and the Caribbean | 103 | ||
| 6.1 INTRODUCTION | 103 | ||
| 6.2 WHAT IS REGULATION? | 104 | ||
| 6.3 CONTRACTS AS A REGULATION METHOD | 106 | ||
| 6.3.1 Information access | 108 | ||
| 6.3.2 Financial sustainability | 110 | ||
| 6.4 HORIZONTAL STRUCTURE OF THE SECTOR | 113 | ||
| 6.4.1 Implications of globalisation | 115 | ||
| 6.5 CONCLUSIONS | 117 | ||
| 6.6 REFERENCES | 118 | ||
| Chapter 7: The German experience with a self-organised water sector – key factors for an alternative to regulation | 121 | ||
| 7.1 INTRODUCTION | 121 | ||
| 7.2 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS | 121 | ||
| 7.3 LEGAL FRAMEWORK | 122 | ||
| 7.4 DIMENSION AND STRUCTURE | 124 | ||
| 7.5 COMPETITION | 128 | ||
| 7.6 ROLE OF BENCHMARK ACTIVITIES | 129 | ||
| 7.7 ECONOMIC CHALLENGES | 131 | ||
| 7.8 LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE GERMAN CASE – GOOD WATER SERVICES WITHOUT A REGULATOR? | 135 | ||
| 7.9 CONCLUSION | 137 | ||
| 7.10 REFERENCES | 138 | ||
| Chapter 8: Assessment of water services from the perspective of multilateral organisations. The aquarating experience | 143 | ||
| 8.1 INTRODUCTION | 143 | ||
| 8.2 CHALLENGES CONCERNING REGULATION AND THE VALUE OF ASSESSING PERFORMANCE AND RELIABLE INFORMATION | 144 | ||
| 8.3 AQUARATING APPROACH AND EXPERIENCE | 146 | ||
| 8.3.1 Approach | 146 | ||
| 8.3.2 From the perspective of the service provider, the following advantages are obtained from participating in a system such as AquaRating | 147 | ||
| 8.3.3 Structure | 147 | ||
| 8.3.4 Field test development and experience | 151 | ||
| 8.4 CONCLUSIONS | 152 | ||
| 8.5 REFERENCES | 153 | ||
| Chapter 9: Can a regulator contribute to resolving the main problems of the urban water cycle in Spain? | 155 | ||
| 9.1 INTRODUCTION | 155 | ||
| 9.2 THE URBAN WATER CYCLE: OBJECTIVES | 157 | ||
| 9.3 THE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN SPAIN AND IN THE WORLD | 161 | ||
| 9.3.1 Ageing infrastructures | 161 | ||
| 9.3.2 Increasing pollution | 162 | ||
| 9.3.3 Increasing urban populations and decreasing rural populations | 163 | ||
| 9.3.4 Growing urbanisation | 165 | ||
| 9.3.5 Climate change | 165 | ||
| 9.4 ANALYSIS, ONE CENTURY LATER, OF THE WATER – TOWN HALL BINOMIAL | 165 | ||
| 9.4.1 Lack of professional capability by political decision makers | 166 | ||
| 9.4.2 Lack of training by managers and technicians | 166 | ||
| 9.4.3 Lack of environmental awareness by citizens | 166 | ||
| 9.4.4 Atomisation of responsibilities | 167 | ||
| 9.4.5 Standards of service quality pending establishment | 168 | ||
| 9.4.6 Confusing rules of play when outsourcing the service | 169 | ||
| 9.4.7 Prices and policy criteria | 170 | ||
| 9.4.8 Lack of transparency in urban water management | 171 | ||
| 9.5 THE PILLARS THAT SHOULD SUPPORT FUTURE URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT | 172 | ||
| 9.5.1 Improve training by decision-makers (at the three levels – political, managerial and technical) and raise environmental awareness in society at large | 172 | ||
| 9.5.2 Diagnosis of the current situation | 172 | ||
| 9.5.3 Designing strategic plans or the long-term commitment | 172 | ||
| 9.5.4 Follow-up and update of strategic plans | 173 | ||
| 9.5.5 Adopting measures to permit economic sustainability of rural communities | 173 | ||
| 9.5.6 Establishing clear rules of play, whichever management method is used | 173 | ||
| 9.6 TWO IMPORTANT FINAL NOTES | 175 | ||
| 9.7 SERVICE REGULATION – THE SOLUTION TO A LARGE NUMBER OF PROBLEMS | 176 | ||
| 9.8 CONCLUSION | 177 | ||
| 9.9 REFERENCES | 177 | ||
| Chapter 10: Reasons to give grounds for urban water regulation in Spain | 181 | ||
| 10.1 STABILITY IN INVESTMENT FRAMEWORK FOR INFRASTRUCTURE | 181 | ||
| 10.2 NEED FOR REGULATORY BODY | 182 | ||
| 10.3 REGULATORY PERSPECTIVES | 182 | ||
| 10.4 INDICATORS | 182 | ||
| 10.5 AQUARATING AND BENCHMARKING | 183 | ||
| 10.6 STANDARDISATION OF REGULATIONS AND TARIFFS | 183 | ||
| 10.7 REGULATION OF TARIFFS IN SPAIN AND POSSIBLE RESPONSIBILITIES | 184 | ||
| 10.8 EXAMPLE OF REGULATION IN SIMILAR SECTORS: ENERGY | 185 | ||
| 10.8.1 The spanish national energy commission (CNE) | 185 | ||
| 10.9 CONCLUSIONS | 186 | ||
| 10.10 REFERENCES | 187 | ||
| Chapter 11: International panel round table conclusions | 189 | ||
| 11.1 THE DEBATE | 191 |