Cost Recovery, Equity, and Efficiency in Water Tariffs : Evidence from African Utilities

Banerjee, Sudeshna ; Foster, Vivien ; Ying, Yvonne ; Skilling, Heather ; Wodon, Quentin

关键词: ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS;    AFFORDABLE WATER;    AVERAGE TARIFF;    AVERAGE TARIFFS;    BALANCE;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-5384
RP-ID  :  WPS5384

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Water and sanitation utilities in Africaoperate in a high-cost environment. They also have a mandateto at least partially recover their costs of operations andmaintenance (O&M). As a result, water tariffs are higherthan in other regions of the world. The increasing blocktariff (IBT) is the most common tariff structure in Africa.Most African utilities are able to achieve O&M costrecovery at the highest block tariffs, but not at thefirst-block tariffs, which are designed to provideaffordable water to low-volume consumers, who are oftenpoor. At the same time, few utilities can recover even asmall part of their capital costs, even in the highesttariff blocks. Unfortunately, the equity objectives of theIBT structure are not met in many countries. The subsidy tothe lowest tariff-block does not benefit the poorexclusively, and the minimum consumption charge is oftenburdensome for the poorest customers. Many poor householdscannot even afford a connection to the piped water network.This can be a significant barrier to expansion forutilities. Therefore, many countries have begun to subsidizehousehold connections. For many households, standpostsmanaged by utilities, donors, or private operators haveemerged as an alternative to piped water. Those managed byutilities or that supply utility water are expected to usethe formal utility tariffs, which are kept low to make wateraffordable for low-income households. The price for waterthat is resold through informal channels, however, is muchmore expensive than piped water.