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U.S. Department of Energy
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Energy price reform in developing countries: Issues and options

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5932338
This report discusses options for resolving energy pricing problems in developing countries. Based on a review of the organizational arrangements and commercial energy pricing problems in 37 countries assisted by the US Agency for International Development, economic efficiency criteria, and economic and sociopolitical realities in developing economies, a general program of commercial energy price reform was outlined. Concisely, energy price reform in developing economies is more likely to occur if it takes shape as a balanced, politically realistic set of simultaneous and related actions. The key feature of a reform program is that, because of political considerations, downstream adjustment problems, and income distribution concerns, changes in energy prices to cost-based levels should be a gradual process. Additionally, the adverse effects of changing to cost-based commercial energy prices can be mitigated by implementing measures to reduce the cost of supplying energy, increase the efficiency of energy use, and change organizational arrangements in the commercial energy sector.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-84OR21400
OSTI ID:
5932338
Report Number(s):
ORNL-6391; ON: DE88000981
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English