The report summarizes the Britishexperience in the electricity industry, from itsprivatization in 1989, until 1998. It reviews the principlesof private ownership, competitive markets, and independentregulation, beneficial to customers in terms of lowerprices, and improved quality of services. Competition ingeneration was enabled through a combination of marketincentives, and regulatory policy, while, pressures on gasprices, on equipment installation costs, and efficiency, aswell as on contractual risk-sharing arrangements, havebrought down the new entry price. The industry'senvironmental record improved, for tighter emissions limitshave been enforced on generating stations, which has inducednew entrants to build combined cycle gas-fired stations,reducing carbon monoxide, and sulfur emissions. Furthermore,increased nuclear output, and greater use of combined heat,and power technology, also helped improve the environment.Social benefits account for several factors, namely, theintroduction, and enforcement of relevant licenseconditions, and appropriate Standards of Performance, suchas availability of a wide range of payment options;provision of special services to retirees, disabled, orchronically sick customers. Although circumstances maydiffer from Britain, essentially the principles of publicpolicy apply as well to developing countries.
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