Good Practices in Water and Sanitation Utility Regulation

Overview

This library presents the findings of a review of the regulatory methods and practices of nine water regulators that are known for their excellent performance. The regulators were selected based on the quality of their regulatory program, and their demonstrated effectiveness of regulation in improving the performance of water utilities. Regulators include Abu Dhabi, Chile, Colombia, Laos, Lithuania, Mozambique, Senegal, Ukraine, and Zambia.

Background

USAID commissioned a study on “Good Practices in Water & Sanitation Utility Regulation” to help USAID Missions and partners learn from water regulators in developing countries that are transitioning successfully toward becoming financially viable water utilities. The study examined how successful regulators in nine countries are dealing with critical regulatory challenges in developing countries. The study also includes useful documents on regulatory methods and procedures from the nine successful regulators, who were selected for the study on the basis of (1) clear evidence of significant progress in water sector reform; (2) geographic representation, (3) alternative approaches to tariff setting and (4) recommendations from experts concerning good regulatory practices.

A presentation highlighting key aspects of the study is available.

References

Abu Dhabi

• Law No (2) Concerning the Regulation of the Water and Electricity Sector, Report, The Government of Abu Dhabi Privatisation Committee Water and Electricity Sector
• 2005 Price Controls Review – Draft Proposals

Chile

• The Chilean Water Sector and the Water Services Regulator, Presentation, Juan Eduardo Saldiva Medina, May 2004

Colombia

• Colombia: Recent Economic Developments in Infrastructure (REDI) Balancing Social and Productive Needs for Infrastructure; Vol 2: Main Report, World Bank, November 2004
• Project Appraisal Document for Water and Sanitation Sector Support Project, World Bank, February 2005

Laos

• Decree on Regulation of Urban Water Supply Operations, Paper, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, July 2005
• Planning and Regulatory Reporting, Report, Water Supply Authority, Laos, May 2004
• Regulatory Accounting Guidelines, Manual, Water Supply Authority, Laos, February 2004
• Building Consensus for Small Town Water Supply Management Models in Lao P.D.R., Report, Water Supply Authority, Laos, June 2004
• A Comparative Study of Small Town Water and Sanitation Services in Developing Countries, Case Studies, Water Supply Authority, Laos, April 2002
• Tariff Determination Guidelines, Tariff Review, Water Supply Authority, Laos, November 2004
• Water Supply Tariff Policy of the Lao PDR, Paper, Water Supply Authority, Laos, April 2004

Senegal

• Innovative Contracts, Sound Relationships: Urban Water Sector Reform in Senegal, Report, Clarissa Brocklehurst and Jan G. Janssens, World Bank, Copyright © 2004
• Assessing the Impact of Privatization in Africa, Report, Yahya Jammal and Leroy Jones, Boston Institute for Developing Economies, June 2005

Ukraine

• Procedure for Pricing Centralized Water and Wastewater Services, Report, Ukraine, June 2001
• Ukraine: Water and Sewerage Utilities Performance, Report, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, 2002

Zambia

• Tariff Adjustment Proposal Worksheet
• Guidelines on Business Planning, Report, National Water Supply & Sanitation Council, May 2004
• Guidelines on Required Minimum Service Level, Report, December 2000
• Licence No. L 15, Document, National Water Supply & Sanitation Council
• Guidelines on Tariffs, National Water Supply & Sanitation Council, April 2005

Other

• Reforming Water Supply in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Report, Claude Ménard and George Clarke, World Bank
• Urban Water Supply Innovations in Côte d’Ivoire: How Cross-Subsidies Help the Poor, Article, Bernard Collignon, Water and Sanitation Program, August 2002
• Excess Entry, Entry Regulation, and Entrant’s Incentive, Paper, Jaehong Kim, January 2001
• Consultative Paper on Long Term Tariff Principles, Paper, Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission, February 2002
• Performance Contract between The Government of the Republic of Uganda and National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Report, The Republic of Uganda, October 2003
• Universal Service Obligations in Utility Concession Contracts and the Needs of the Poor in Argentina’s Privatizations, Paper, Omar Chisari and Antonio Estache
• Memorandum of Understanding: Stretch with Impact, Paper, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, December 2002
• Utility Assessment Initiative Report, Hydro-Comp Enterprises Egypt
• Study on Impact of Imperfect Data, Vol 1: Main Analysis, Report, Jacobs Babtie, World Bank, November 2004
• Comparison of Building Blocks and Index-Based Approaches, Report, Utility Regulators Forum, June 2002
• Contracting Out Utility Regulatory Functions, Report, Sophie Trémolet, Padmesh Shukla and Courtenay Venton, Environmental Resources Management, January 2004
• Performance Reporting by Water and Sanitation Utilities on Consumer-Oriented Issues, Report, Peter D. Cook and Jonathan Stevens, November 2004
• Price-Capping Regulation as a Protectionist Strategy in Developing Countries, Report, Peter Lawrence and Arijit Mukherjee, Keele Economics Research Papers, October 2002
• Annotated Reading List for a Body of Knowledge on the Regulation of Utility Infrastructure and Services, Report, Mark A. Jamison, Sanford V. Berg, Farid Gasmi, José I. Távara, October 2004
• Regulating Infrastructure for the Poor: Perspectives on Regulatory System Design, Report, Warrick Smith, World Bank, June 2000
• Pro-Poor Regulation, Report, World Bank/Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility Regulation of Quality of Infrastructure Services in Developing Countries, Report, Bill Baker, Sophie Trémolet, June 2000
• Regulation of Water Supply and Sanitation Services: A Review of Experience in Selected Countries in Latin America, Report, Guillermo Yepes
• Strategic Behaviour under Regulation Benchmarking, Report, Tooraj Jamasb, Paul Nillesen and Michael Pollitt, The Cambridge-MIT Institute, Copyright © 2003
• Regulating Utilities: Thinking About Location Questions, Report, Warrick Smith, World Bank, July 2000
• Granting and Renegotiating Infrastructure Concessions: Doing it Right, Book, J. Luis Guasch, World Bank, Copyright © 2004
• Regulation Of Quality Of Infrastructure Services In Developing Countries, Report, Bill Baker and Sophie Trémolet, June 2000