News
A New Report Offers Energy Options To Policymakers
June 16 2010
Electricity supply-demand tension has taken its toll in various countries around the world over the last several years. Governments and utilities have faced gaps between electricity supply and demand, which has led to blackouts and load shedding and translated into electricity shortfalls.
While countries look to avoid the prospects of supply shortages by strengthening their planning capacity and working to achieve a sounder and more sustainable electricity sector, the possibility of shortages in the future remains.
A new brochure summarizes the framework for action and broad menu of demand and supply-side options available to policymakers to bridge a supply-demand gap in the short- to medium-term. These topics are covered more extensively in the full report “Managing an Electricity Shortfall: A Guide for Policymakers, are now available on the web at: [Link to brochure and report].
These reports were prepared by a team of policy experts, engineers, and economists as part of an integrated series entitled the Central America Programmatic Energy Studies.
The programmatic series includes three modules:
- An overview module sets the stage for further analysis by systematically examining the electricity sub-sector and identifying major challenges both at the individual country and regional levels.
- The managing electricity shortfalls module evaluates the effectiveness of supply side and demand side actions to address actual or looming shortages.
- For longer-term sustainability, the regional regulatory module identifies barriers to electricity integration and proposes actions to overcome them.
Looking ahead, the World Bank is also proposing additional modules, for developing geothermal energy. These programmatic reports aim to provide valuable insights for energy policymakers worldwide.