In France, the debate on regulation of public services often excludes the water sector, one of the few sectors not affected by post-war nationalisation. The industry is decentralisied, with quality and price placed on the large number of communes. The 1990s saw increasing social demands in favour of better regulaton.
This study highlights limits to real reform in the electricity and telecommunications sectors in Spain
This is an introduction to a book (edited by Claude Henry, Michel Matheu and Alain Jeunemaitre and published by OUP 2001) assessing new forms of public regulation in Europe and indicating what has already been learned and suggesting the questions that need to be addressed.
This paper addresses the questions of how and why do European energy regulators co-operate.It is divided into five sections: a description of the legal framewrorks and market structures of electricity and natural gas in the EU; why energy regulators have been introduced by most Member States and why different institutional formats have been adopted; why co-operation among energy regulators is necessary; the main objectives of the Council of European Energy Regulators; the role of regulators within the political and institutional framework of the EU.
Developments in the principles of utility regulation are assessed in the light of UK experience. The incentives-rent extraction model of price regulation, multi-product pricing and access pricing, rules for spot markets, structural regulation and the problem of regulatory commitment are discussed using a unified theoretical framework.