Explore the vast range of titles available.

Tajikistan's electricity system is in a state of crisis. Approximately 70 percent of the Tajik people suffer from extensive shortages of electricity during the winter. These shortages, estimated at about 2,700 GWh, about a quarter of winter electricity demand, impose economic losses estimated at over United States (US) 200 million dollars per annum or 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The electricity shortages have not been addressed because investments have not been made in new electricity supply capacity and maintenance of existing assets has not improved. The financial incentive for electricity consumers to reduce their consumption is inadequate as electricity prices are among the lowest in the world. Without prompt action to remedy the causes of Tajikistan's electricity crisis and with growing demand, the shortages could increase to about 4,500 GWh by 2016 (over a third of winter electricity demand) or worse. The World Bank undertook this study to assist the Government of Tajikistan (GoT) in finding ways to overcome the current electricity shortages and establish a sound basis for meeting the growing electricity demand in Tajikistan. The study focuses on the investments and policy reforms needed between now and 2020 to strengthen the financial, technical and institutional capacity of the Tajik power sector and prepare the GoT for undertaking a major expansion of power supply capacity. The study excludes large hydropower plants with storage, given their complexity and global experience that such projects are subject to delays. The winter electricity shortages are caused by a combination of low hydropower output during winter when river flows are low and high demand driven by heating needs. The GoT should focus its immediate attention on three ways to eliminate the current winter power shortages: 1) ambitious energy efficiency plans to reduce uneconomic power usage; 2) new dual-fired thermal power supply to complement the existing hydropower supply during winter; and 3) increased energy imports to leverage surplus electricity supply in neighboring countries.

This study is designed to analyze the energy efficiency policies in seven countries that were successful in achieving low energy intensities or in reducing their energy intensity considerably. The study analyzes the evolution of the energy intensity of these countries from 1990 to 2007, identifying points of inflection in the progress towards improvements. Changes to the policy agenda immediately upstream are explored in an effort to identify cause and affect relationships in energy efficiency improvements. Although direct relationships are difficult to isolate, cross country analyses that point to similar successes among a variety of countries give some confidence that these policies have contributed to reducing energy needs. The energy efficiency of new buildings is relatively easily and in expensively addressed by setting standards: making a new building energy efficient typically adds only 5 percent to the total cost. The purpose of this study is to determine what policy changes make a difference in countries' energy in tensity. The starting point for the analysis was the evolution of countries' energy intensity over time to identify inflection points when notable changes took place. Given that the inflection point could have been caused by external price shocks or structural changes, these causes were analyzed and removed from further consideration. Then changes to the policy agenda during identified periods were explored in an effort to identify cause and affect relationships in energy efficiency improvements.

This study is essentially based on a desk review of the relevant Bank documents covering the electricity related operations in the ECA countries during the 1990s. Detailed case studies have been prepared for four countries, which are all candidates for EU accession (Hungary, Lithuania, Poland and Turkey) and six former Soviet Union states (Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine). Taking these, as well as information relating to Russia, Romania, Armenia and Albania, lessons have been drawn.The key lessons relate to: (a) the overriding need for comprehensive commercialization of the sector, before attempting sector reforms involving unbundling, privatization and competition; (b) the need to adjust tariffs to cover costs of supply and depoliticize tariff setting by establishing independent regulatory bodies; (c) the need to select market structures appropriate for the circumstances of each country; and (d) the need to protect the targeted poorer consumers from rising electricity costs. Good practices leading to optimal privatization receipts and successful privatizations to strategic investors have been identified. Actions to be pursued in the context of declining interest of strategic investors in emerging markets are outlined.

The Californian power crisis appears to have greatly rekindled the latent doubts on moving to more competitive market structures for such an essential service as electricity. The recent collapse of Enron and several other industrial giants, as well as doubts about the reliability of external audits (resulting, in particular, in the collapse of Arthur Anderson) and the slide in the stock values of AES and other companies has eroded the confidence in the institutional pillars of the market, such as corporate disclosure, external audit, and oversight by regulators and Security Exchange Commissions. Major energy investors, at least in North America, seem to be anxious to clean up their balance sheets to eliminate from their portfolio unprofitable and risky investments. Against this backdrop, the objective of this study is to review the experiences in the ECA regio

This study is designed to analyze the energy efficiency policies in seven countries that were successful in achieving low energy intensities or in reducing their energy intensity considerably. The study analyzes the evolution of the energy intensity of these countries from 1990 to 2007, identifying points of inflection in the progress towards improvements. Changes to the policy agenda immediately upstream are explored in an effort to identify cause and affect relationships in energy efficiency improvements. Although direct relationships are difficult to isolate, cross country analyses that point to similar successes among a variety of countries give some confidence that these policies have contributed to reducing energy needs. The energy efficiency of new buildings is relatively easily and in expensively addressed by setting standards: making a new building energy efficient typically adds only 5 percent to the total cost. The purpose of this study is to determine what policy changes make a difference in countries' energy intensity. The starting point for the analysis was the evolution of countries' energy intensity over time to identify inflection points when notable changes took place. Given that the inflection point could have been caused by external price shocks or structural changes, these causes were analyzed and removed from further consideration. Then changes to the policy agenda during identified periods were explored in an effort to identify cause and affect relationships in energy efficiency improvements. Tables, Figures, Appendixes, References.