Identifying Informational Requirements

Core References

Infrastructure Concessions, Information Flows, and Regulatory Risk
Note no. 203 in Public Policy for the Private Sector. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group, December 1999.
Burns, P., and A. Estache

Explains that because the asymmetry of information places the regulator at a disadvantage, the regulator must define its information requirements and data processes early in the design of the concession contract and transaction. It should take advantage of the government’s leverage during bidding to extract information from concessionaires and commitments from them to provide continued flows of information to aid price review. Information provision is a two-way street. Details types of information to gather.

Resetting Price Controls for Privatized Utilities: A Manual for Regulators
Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1999, Chapter 3.
Green, Richard, and Martin Rodriguez Pardina

Holds that the regulator should gather general accounting information, including past information, on an ongoing basis. For a price review, the operator should provide a business plan and projections of demand, operating costs, and investments.

Regulatory Requirements Under Different Forms of Utility Service Delivery
Macroconsulting, 2007.
Rodriguez Pardina, Martin, and Richard Schlirf Rapti

Examines different forms of utility management and the regulatory information requirements under each. Includes case studies of Mali (electricity production and distribution, concession), Senegal (water production and distribution; affermage), Niger (water production and distribution; affermage), Argentina (electricity distribution; concession) and Peru (water production and distribution; concession).

National Regulatory Reporting for Electricity Distribution and Retailing Businesses
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Sidney, 2002.
Utility Regulators Forum

Explains that if operators serving multiple jurisdictions are generally subject to multiple reporting requirements, these operators incur higher reporting costs than if there was a single, uniform reporting requirement. Discusses other problems. Establishes uniform reporting requirements for electricity distribution providers in Australia.

Sectoral References

ELECTRICITY

Decision: Statement of principles for the regulation of transmission revenues: Information requirements guidelines
5 June 2002.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Details information filing requirements for electricity transmission operators. Describes information needs for revenue caps. Describes policies for information disclosure and future information policy issues.

Measuring the Impact of Energy Reform – Practical Options
Note no. 210 in Public Policy for the Private Sector. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group, May 2000.
Foster, Vivien

Identifies indicators needed for assessing the impact of energy reform on the poor.

Scoping Study into Data Collection Issues for Incentive Regulation, Report prepared for Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
19 November 2003.
Meyrick and Associates

Identifies data needs for incentive regulation.

Other References

The Economics of Regulation: Principles and Institutions
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1988, Reissue Edition, vol. I, Chapter 7.
Kahn, Alfred

Summarizes some types of cost and demand information that regulators may need.

Key Words

Information, Assets, Costs, Investment

 

Case Studies

Decision: Statement of principles for the regulation of transmission revenues: Information requirements guidelines
5 June 2002.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Draft Energy and Water License Compliance Policy
Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales, September 2003.
Independent Pricing and Regulatory Triburnal of New South Wales

Scoping Study into Data Collection Issues for Incentive Regulation, Report prepared for Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
19 November 2003.
Meyrick and Associates

Chart of Accounts and Cost Allocation Manual: Detailed Requirements for Fixed-Line Telephone Operators
September 19, 1999.
South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority