Water, Electricity, and the Poor : Who Benefits from Utility Subsidies?

Utility subsidies to consumers of water and electricity services are often justified as a mechanism for making services affordable for the poor. After all, an estimated 1.1 billion people in the developing world lack access to safe water, 2 billion are without electricity, and 2.4 billion without sanitation. But critics object that such subsidies can work against improving quality of service to existing consumers and extending access to unconnected households. Financially strapped utilities are often inefficient, provide low-quality services, and lag behind in expanding networks. During the 1990s, experts urged that water and electricity services should charge enough to fully cover costs. Households could spend 10-50 percent more on water and electricity without major effects on poverty levels, but in many countries much larger price increases are needed to recover costs. A substantial proportion of the population of lower income countries may find it difficult to pay the full cost of services.

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Main Authors: Komives, Kristin, Foster, Vivien, Halpern, Jonathan, Wodon, Quentin, Abdullah, Roohi
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2008-10
Subjects:ACCESS TO SAFE WATER, BLOCK TARIFFS, CITIES, CONNECTION, CONNECTION CHARGES, CONNECTION COSTS, CONNECTIONS, CONSUMERS, CONSUMPTION INCREASES, COST RECOVERY, CUBIC METERS, CUBIC METERS OF WATER, DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS, DRAIN, DRINKING WATER, ELECTRICITY SERVICES, EXCLUSION, FIXED CHARGES, GDP, HOUSEHOLDS, INCOME, MAINTENANCE COSTS, PRICE INCREASES, PUBLIC SUBSIDIES, PUBLIC TAP, PUBLIC TAPS, QUALITY OF SERVICE, REVENUE COLLECTION, SANITATION, SUBSIDIZATION, TARGETED SUBSIDY, TARIFF STRUCTURE, USER CHARGES, UTILITIES, UTILITY SERVICES, VOLUME OF WATER, WATER BILLS, WATER SECTOR, WATER SOURCES, WATER SUBSIDIES, WATER SUBSIDY, WATER TARIFFS, WATER UTILITIES,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/10/10026773/water-electricity-poor-benefits-utility-subsidies
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/11745
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spelling dig-okr-10986117452024-08-08T16:33:03Z Water, Electricity, and the Poor : Who Benefits from Utility Subsidies? Komives, Kristin Foster, Vivien Halpern, Jonathan Wodon, Quentin Abdullah, Roohi ACCESS TO SAFE WATER BLOCK TARIFFS CITIES CONNECTION CONNECTION CHARGES CONNECTION COSTS CONNECTIONS CONSUMERS CONSUMPTION INCREASES COST RECOVERY CUBIC METERS CUBIC METERS OF WATER DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS DRAIN DRINKING WATER ELECTRICITY SERVICES EXCLUSION FIXED CHARGES GDP HOUSEHOLDS INCOME MAINTENANCE COSTS PRICE INCREASES PUBLIC SUBSIDIES PUBLIC TAP PUBLIC TAPS QUALITY OF SERVICE REVENUE COLLECTION SANITATION SUBSIDIZATION TARGETED SUBSIDY TARIFF STRUCTURE USER CHARGES UTILITIES UTILITY SERVICES VOLUME OF WATER WATER BILLS WATER SECTOR WATER SOURCES WATER SUBSIDIES WATER SUBSIDY WATER TARIFFS WATER UTILITIES Utility subsidies to consumers of water and electricity services are often justified as a mechanism for making services affordable for the poor. After all, an estimated 1.1 billion people in the developing world lack access to safe water, 2 billion are without electricity, and 2.4 billion without sanitation. But critics object that such subsidies can work against improving quality of service to existing consumers and extending access to unconnected households. Financially strapped utilities are often inefficient, provide low-quality services, and lag behind in expanding networks. During the 1990s, experts urged that water and electricity services should charge enough to fully cover costs. Households could spend 10-50 percent more on water and electricity without major effects on poverty levels, but in many countries much larger price increases are needed to recover costs. A substantial proportion of the population of lower income countries may find it difficult to pay the full cost of services. 2012-08-13T15:54:13Z 2012-08-13T15:54:13Z 2008-10 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/10/10026773/water-electricity-poor-benefits-utility-subsidies https://hdl.handle.net/10986/11745 English Water P-Notes; No. 20 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank application/pdf text/plain World Bank, Washington, DC
institution Banco Mundial
collection DSpace
country Estados Unidos
countrycode US
component Bibliográfico
access En linea
databasecode dig-okr
tag biblioteca
region America del Norte
libraryname Biblioteca del Banco Mundial
language English
topic ACCESS TO SAFE WATER
BLOCK TARIFFS
CITIES
CONNECTION
CONNECTION CHARGES
CONNECTION COSTS
CONNECTIONS
CONSUMERS
CONSUMPTION INCREASES
COST RECOVERY
CUBIC METERS
CUBIC METERS OF WATER
DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS
DRAIN
DRINKING WATER
ELECTRICITY SERVICES
EXCLUSION
FIXED CHARGES
GDP
HOUSEHOLDS
INCOME
MAINTENANCE COSTS
PRICE INCREASES
PUBLIC SUBSIDIES
PUBLIC TAP
PUBLIC TAPS
QUALITY OF SERVICE
REVENUE COLLECTION
SANITATION
SUBSIDIZATION
TARGETED SUBSIDY
TARIFF STRUCTURE
USER CHARGES
UTILITIES
UTILITY SERVICES
VOLUME OF WATER
WATER BILLS
WATER SECTOR
WATER SOURCES
WATER SUBSIDIES
WATER SUBSIDY
WATER TARIFFS
WATER UTILITIES
ACCESS TO SAFE WATER
BLOCK TARIFFS
CITIES
CONNECTION
CONNECTION CHARGES
CONNECTION COSTS
CONNECTIONS
CONSUMERS
CONSUMPTION INCREASES
COST RECOVERY
CUBIC METERS
CUBIC METERS OF WATER
DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS
DRAIN
DRINKING WATER
ELECTRICITY SERVICES
EXCLUSION
FIXED CHARGES
GDP
HOUSEHOLDS
INCOME
MAINTENANCE COSTS
PRICE INCREASES
PUBLIC SUBSIDIES
PUBLIC TAP
PUBLIC TAPS
QUALITY OF SERVICE
REVENUE COLLECTION
SANITATION
SUBSIDIZATION
TARGETED SUBSIDY
TARIFF STRUCTURE
USER CHARGES
UTILITIES
UTILITY SERVICES
VOLUME OF WATER
WATER BILLS
WATER SECTOR
WATER SOURCES
WATER SUBSIDIES
WATER SUBSIDY
WATER TARIFFS
WATER UTILITIES
spellingShingle ACCESS TO SAFE WATER
BLOCK TARIFFS
CITIES
CONNECTION
CONNECTION CHARGES
CONNECTION COSTS
CONNECTIONS
CONSUMERS
CONSUMPTION INCREASES
COST RECOVERY
CUBIC METERS
CUBIC METERS OF WATER
DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS
DRAIN
DRINKING WATER
ELECTRICITY SERVICES
EXCLUSION
FIXED CHARGES
GDP
HOUSEHOLDS
INCOME
MAINTENANCE COSTS
PRICE INCREASES
PUBLIC SUBSIDIES
PUBLIC TAP
PUBLIC TAPS
QUALITY OF SERVICE
REVENUE COLLECTION
SANITATION
SUBSIDIZATION
TARGETED SUBSIDY
TARIFF STRUCTURE
USER CHARGES
UTILITIES
UTILITY SERVICES
VOLUME OF WATER
WATER BILLS
WATER SECTOR
WATER SOURCES
WATER SUBSIDIES
WATER SUBSIDY
WATER TARIFFS
WATER UTILITIES
ACCESS TO SAFE WATER
BLOCK TARIFFS
CITIES
CONNECTION
CONNECTION CHARGES
CONNECTION COSTS
CONNECTIONS
CONSUMERS
CONSUMPTION INCREASES
COST RECOVERY
CUBIC METERS
CUBIC METERS OF WATER
DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS
DRAIN
DRINKING WATER
ELECTRICITY SERVICES
EXCLUSION
FIXED CHARGES
GDP
HOUSEHOLDS
INCOME
MAINTENANCE COSTS
PRICE INCREASES
PUBLIC SUBSIDIES
PUBLIC TAP
PUBLIC TAPS
QUALITY OF SERVICE
REVENUE COLLECTION
SANITATION
SUBSIDIZATION
TARGETED SUBSIDY
TARIFF STRUCTURE
USER CHARGES
UTILITIES
UTILITY SERVICES
VOLUME OF WATER
WATER BILLS
WATER SECTOR
WATER SOURCES
WATER SUBSIDIES
WATER SUBSIDY
WATER TARIFFS
WATER UTILITIES
Komives, Kristin
Foster, Vivien
Halpern, Jonathan
Wodon, Quentin
Abdullah, Roohi
Water, Electricity, and the Poor : Who Benefits from Utility Subsidies?
description Utility subsidies to consumers of water and electricity services are often justified as a mechanism for making services affordable for the poor. After all, an estimated 1.1 billion people in the developing world lack access to safe water, 2 billion are without electricity, and 2.4 billion without sanitation. But critics object that such subsidies can work against improving quality of service to existing consumers and extending access to unconnected households. Financially strapped utilities are often inefficient, provide low-quality services, and lag behind in expanding networks. During the 1990s, experts urged that water and electricity services should charge enough to fully cover costs. Households could spend 10-50 percent more on water and electricity without major effects on poverty levels, but in many countries much larger price increases are needed to recover costs. A substantial proportion of the population of lower income countries may find it difficult to pay the full cost of services.
topic_facet ACCESS TO SAFE WATER
BLOCK TARIFFS
CITIES
CONNECTION
CONNECTION CHARGES
CONNECTION COSTS
CONNECTIONS
CONSUMERS
CONSUMPTION INCREASES
COST RECOVERY
CUBIC METERS
CUBIC METERS OF WATER
DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS
DRAIN
DRINKING WATER
ELECTRICITY SERVICES
EXCLUSION
FIXED CHARGES
GDP
HOUSEHOLDS
INCOME
MAINTENANCE COSTS
PRICE INCREASES
PUBLIC SUBSIDIES
PUBLIC TAP
PUBLIC TAPS
QUALITY OF SERVICE
REVENUE COLLECTION
SANITATION
SUBSIDIZATION
TARGETED SUBSIDY
TARIFF STRUCTURE
USER CHARGES
UTILITIES
UTILITY SERVICES
VOLUME OF WATER
WATER BILLS
WATER SECTOR
WATER SOURCES
WATER SUBSIDIES
WATER SUBSIDY
WATER TARIFFS
WATER UTILITIES
author Komives, Kristin
Foster, Vivien
Halpern, Jonathan
Wodon, Quentin
Abdullah, Roohi
author_facet Komives, Kristin
Foster, Vivien
Halpern, Jonathan
Wodon, Quentin
Abdullah, Roohi
author_sort Komives, Kristin
title Water, Electricity, and the Poor : Who Benefits from Utility Subsidies?
title_short Water, Electricity, and the Poor : Who Benefits from Utility Subsidies?
title_full Water, Electricity, and the Poor : Who Benefits from Utility Subsidies?
title_fullStr Water, Electricity, and the Poor : Who Benefits from Utility Subsidies?
title_full_unstemmed Water, Electricity, and the Poor : Who Benefits from Utility Subsidies?
title_sort water, electricity, and the poor : who benefits from utility subsidies?
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2008-10
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/10/10026773/water-electricity-poor-benefits-utility-subsidies
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/11745
work_keys_str_mv AT komiveskristin waterelectricityandthepoorwhobenefitsfromutilitysubsidies
AT fostervivien waterelectricityandthepoorwhobenefitsfromutilitysubsidies
AT halpernjonathan waterelectricityandthepoorwhobenefitsfromutilitysubsidies
AT wodonquentin waterelectricityandthepoorwhobenefitsfromutilitysubsidies
AT abdullahroohi waterelectricityandthepoorwhobenefitsfromutilitysubsidies
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