Why Are Connection Charges So High? : An Analysis of the Electricity Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa

Blimpo, Moussa ; McRae, Shaun ; Steinbuks, Jevgenijs

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: CONNECTION CHARGES;    ELECTRICITY;    ELECTRICITY ACCESS;    UTILITIES;    REGULATION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-8407
RP-ID  :  WPS8407

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This study develops and structurallyestimates a model of household and electric utility behaviorto describe how the low access rates and high connectioncharges that are common in the Sub-Saharan Africa regionarise from regulated electricity tariffs being set too low.As a result, the utilities lose money on each connectedcustomer and low electricity consumption by households makesit difficult to recover the cost of providing a connection.For each possible choice of the regulated tariff, theoptimal upfront connection charge is computed that willmaximize profits for the utility in its service territory.Higher tariffs are associated with lower optimal connectioncharges and higher electrification rates. Nonetheless, dueto households' low willingness to pay for electricityservices, the equilibrium electrification rates in the modelare much lower than 100 percent. Future advances inelectrification will require higher incomes, increasedcoverage of the distribution network, and lower connection costs.