Colombia is somewhat unique in this series, in that it was never a centralised, communist state. Nonetheless, it does share some of the characteristics of the centralised socialist economies since the reins of power remained in a small clique which denied access to other parts of the society....

Highly volatile electricity prices are becoming a more frequent and unwanted characteristic of modern electricity wholesale markets. But low demand elasticity, mainly the result of a lack of incentives and consumers’ inability to control demand, means that consumer behaviour is not reflected...

This book analyses the most recent developments in security of gas supply and reliability in all IEA regions. Reform has led to open markets, where supply and demand are balanced by the market. In the gas sector, supply is capacity-bound and large parts of the demand side are inelastic. The...

Major nuclear regulatory challenges will arise from government policies to liberalise energy sectors. In a context of growing competition and market deregulation, it is becoming increasingly important to reconcile commercial interests with safety requirements. For nuclear regulatory bodies, the...

Europe's railways are going through a period of radical restructuring in the drive to improve their efficiency and competitiveness. The emphasis is on fostering commercial freedom through a clearer separation of the roles of the State and of rail enterprises and through a progressive opening of...

Electric power in OECD countries is mostly produced by large central generating stations, then transmitted along high voltage lines to local distribution systems that carry it to final consumers. Distributed generation plants are different. They produce power on an electricity consumer’s own...