Utilities Policy最新文献

Improving the energy efficiency of household appliances is a global strategy for mitigating the effects of climate change and ensuring energy security. Consumers, however, often underinvest in energy efficiency. This research draws on the theory of diffusion of innovation to develop an electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) process model of energy-efficiency uptake in online marketplaces. Model estimation, based on room air conditioners’ data from a large online marketplace in India, uncovers underexploited eWOM pathways to accelerate the diffusion of energy efficiency innovations for the benefit of consumers and the health of the planet.

This article addresses the issue of low energy quality for low-income consumers, exploring whether the quality of electricity supplied to the low-income population is inferior to other residential consumers. The analysis is built by comparing various electricity service quality indicators among different groups of consumers. The study used different specifications of linear and nonlinear panel data, with disaggregated information in more than 300 million observations of consumer units served by Enel-GO (Goiás, Brazil) between 2014 and 2017. The results corroborate the study hypothesis, with consumers classified as low-income receiving lower-quality electricity than other consumers.

Guatemala has made significant progress in improving its electrical infrastructure in recent years. However, most studies and efforts have focused on developing policies that directly benefit the national electrical market, which may cause a lack of attention toward solutions that cater to low-consumption cases, such as residential and rural communities. Therefore, it is vital to consider the needs of these communities while developing policies and solutions to ensure that they also have access to reliable and affordable sources of electricity. This study analyzes the cost-effectiveness and technical performance of a hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) that can meet the power needs of low electricity-consuming households in a rural region of Guatemala. The proposed HRES comprises a hybrid photovoltaic-wind turbine-bio generator coupled to battery storage, which caters to the energy needs of a typical household in Alta Verapaz, a rural area in Guatemala with limited electricity access (64.61%). The research considers three scenarios: I) basic electricity needs for the household, II) increased electricity needs for cooking and water heating, and III) future electricity demand in 2050, considering the role of the renewable energy market. Based on Scenario I, the cost-effective solution is a PV system with a capacity of 5.39 kW and 29 kWh battery capacity, with a cost of energy (COE) of 0.893 $/kWh. In Scenario II, a hybrid solution consisting of a 2.46 kW PV system, a 2.20 kW bio-generator, and 16 kWh battery capacity o, results in a COE of 0.605 $/kWh. Scenario III suggests a hybrid system, including 7.90 kW of PV, 3.30 kW bio-generator, and 14 kWh battery to meet the expected energy demand in 2050. COE for this solution is estimated to be 0.297 $/kWh. Considering the declining costs of renewable energy technologies by 2050, the findings highlight that the proposed HRES can be an affordable solution for low-consumption scenarios such as off-grid areas in Guatemala.

This study examines the causal relationship between technological innovation and energy efficiency in Central and Eastern European countries. The results indicate that technological innovation significantly impacts energy efficiency in the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Slovenia through various economic and political factors. Conversely, energy efficiency also significantly affects technological innovation in Estonia, Hungary, and Slovakia. These findings suggest that energy efficiency is a function of the rate of innovation adoption. It is recommended that these countries prioritize implementing reforms that bolster economic freedom and institutional quality to foster innovation.

France is one of the countries that have made commendable progress towards accomplishing sustainable development goals but still struggles with combating environmental challenges. Decarbonizing the energy sector by deploying clean energy and reducing fossil fuels in the energy mix are essential steps. The study uses annual time series data from 1980 to 2021 and employs the ridge regression estimation technique to estimate a twice-differentiable transcendental production function, which approximates the second-order Taylor series to explore the potential for such decarbonization for France. The study finds that substitution possibilities exist between clean energy and fossil fuels, with substantial substitution possibilities coming from nuclear energy. Nuclear energy and renewables are found to be complements that can be deployed concurrently, but since nuclear energy already constitutes a significant proportion of clean energy for France, the study recommends increasing the proportion of renewable energy in the overall energy mix as the most plausible path to decarbonization. Other complementary sustainable energy policies are recommended in the body of the paper.

This study employs linear and non-linear quantile regression models to assess the merit-order effect (MOE) of integrating renewable energy sources (RESs) into the Turkish day-ahead electricity market. The analysis spans nine different quantiles from January 2019 to December 2022. Our results show that both dispatchable and variable renewable energy sources (VREs) are essential for reducing market clearing prices (MCPs) in the Turkish day-ahead market. However, they have different impacts on quantiles of MCPs and price variability. VREs enhances the price variability across all hours in linear and non-linear models, while dispatchable renewable energy reduces price variability except at night.

Brazil's Tariff Flag Program is presented with its main modelling features and outcomes explored. The program's virtue is coupling several independent procurement commitments in a single target cash flow linked to an information framework, which seeks to provide real-time awareness about the power system's production costs. Regulatory principles such as simplicity and stability challenge the modelling approach. The framework may be useful for non- or partially liberalised power markets, where uniform tariff rates are common. It also may help utilities to deal with wholesale prices' volatilities.

This paper analyses knowledge in social sciences about the conditions for and the process of institutional change in the urban sanitation sector in the Global South. We conducted a literature review of 148 papers. This review is organised around the six steps of institutional change proposed by Greenwood et al. (2002). Most studies focus on conditions and barriers to change, on the “legitimacy” of social or technological innovations, and the actors promoting change. The change process is rarely analysed from a long-term perspective, nor at the city scale, calling for further research.

This study explores the interaction between geopolitics, natural resources, and load capacity factors (LCF) within BRICS countries. Using fixed effects, random effects, quantile regression, and Driscoll Kraay Standard Error approaches, we found that for every 1% increase in green technology adoption, LCF decreased by 0.14%–0.54%. This effect suggests that green technologies may reduce LCF. Geopolitical risk positively influences LCF, with a 1% increase resulting in a 0.14%–0.48% rise across quantiles, thus enhancing reliability and sustainability. Furthermore, economic growth, renewable energy, and natural resources rents enhance the ratio of biocapacity to ecological footprint.

A carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) should theoretically increase investment in sustainable energy and utilities, promoting energy efficiency in line with sustainable development and energy transition goals. However, whether Korea's ETS improves or impairs energy efficiency for sustainable energy and utilities is disputed. This study addresses this debate, using panel data from 16 sectors in Korea from 2011 to 2020 and employing a dynamic difference-in-differences (DID) method to estimate the effect of Korea's ETS on total factor energy efficiency and its influencing mechanisms. The main findings are as follows. First, while the effect appeared statistically insignificant in the analyses of the industry as a whole, improving energy efficiency demonstrated a moderate effect for the agriculture industry in terms of research and development investment, fixed assets, and operating income when performing heterogeneity and moderation effect analyses. Second, a company's production dependence on labour is unfavourable to improving energy efficiency through ETS. Lastly, the adverse impact of labour dependence is more prominently observed in light industries, particularly in durable goods and agricultural sub-sectors. Therefore, this reaffirms that the key to increasing energy efficiency is to adjust Korea's ETS flexibly, considering the characteristics of each industry.