In the context of a first Working Paper the authors argued that electricity has a number of characteristics that set it apart from other commodities. It was demonstrated that some of these characteristics might complicate the deregulation process. This paper analyses the ongoing deregulation...

In the context of a first Working Paper the authors argued that electricity has a number of characteristics that set it apart from other commodities. It was demonstrated that some of these characteristics might complicate the deregulation process. This paper analyses the ongoing deregulation...

Since the 1990s, efficiency and benchmarking analysis has increasingly been used in network utilities research and regulation. A recurrent concern is the effect of environmental factors that are beyond the influence of firms (observable heterogeneity) and factors that are not identifiable...

Emission trading has become recently more and more import in environmental regulation. In the context of controlling greenhouse gas emissions, the directive on a Europewide trading scheme for large immobile sources may be perceived as one of the most important milestones in recent years. Prior...

This paper applies parametric and non-parametric and parametric tests to assess the efficiency of electricity distribution companies in Germany. We address traditional issues in electricity sector benchmarking, such as the role of scale effects and optimal utility size, as well as new evidence...

Das Paper untersucht zwei Fragen: (1) Wann hat ein Stromnetzbetreiber, der zugleich im nachgelagerten Strommarkt tätig ist (vertikal integrierter Netzbetreiber), einen Anreiz, durch diskriminierende Festsetzung von Netznutzungsentgelten die Konkurrenz im Strommarkt zu behindern? (2) Kann eine...

Das Paper untersucht zwei Fragen: (1) Wann hat ein Stromnetzbetreiber, der zugleich im nachgelagerten Strommarkt tätig ist (vertikal integrierter Netzbetreiber), einen Anreiz, durch diskriminierende Festsetzung von Netznutzungsentgelten die Konkurrenz im Strommarkt zu behindern? (2) Kann eine...

Im Zuge der Diskussion über die Liberalisierung des deutschen Strommarktes wurde von kommunaler Seite die Befürchtung vorgebracht, daß die Einführung von Wettbewerb zu einem Rückgang der Gemeindeeinnahmen führe Dieser Beitrag untersucht diese Behauptung aus ökonomischer Sicht. Es zeigt...

The question of third-party access to the networks has become central to the debate around the liberalisation of the European electricity markets due to the natural monopoly characteristic of the transmission network. The European Union?s electricity directive provides three institutional...