Europe and Central Asia Balancing Act : Cutting Subsidies, Protecting Affordability, and Investing in the Energy Sector in Eastern Europe and Central Asia Region

World Bank

Washington, DC

关键词: AFFORDABLE ENERGY;    ALTERNATIVE ENERGY;    AVAILABILITY;    BALANCE;    CARBON;   

RP-ID  :  69447

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The cost of energy in Eastern Europe andCentral Asia, as elsewhere, is an important policy issue, asshown by the concerns for energy affordability during thepast harsh winter. Governments try to moderate the burden ofenergy expenditures that is experienced by householdsthrough subsidies to the energy providers, so thathouseholds pay tariffs below the cost recovery level for theenergy they use. These subsidies result in significantpressures on government budgets when international pricesrise. They also provide perverse incentives for theoverconsumption of energy as households do not pay the truecost of energy, and therefore, have fewer incentives to saveor to invest in energy efficiency. Balancing competingclaims-fiscal and environmental concerns which would pushfor raising energy tariffs on the one hand and affordabilityand political economy concerns which push for keepingtariffs artificially low on the other-is a task that policymakers in the region are increasingly unable to put off.Addressing this issue is all the more pressing as theongoing crisis continues to add stress to governmentbudgets, and that international energy prices remain high.This is the first report to assess, at the micro level forthe whole region, the distributional impact of raisingenergy tariffs to cost recovery levels and to simulatepolicy options to cushion these impacts.