 The Philippine electricity sector reform and the urban question: How metro Manila's utility is tackling urban povertyMorgan Mouton Energy Policy, 2015, vol. 78, issue C, 225-234 Abstract: In the early 2000s, the Philippine government reformed its electricity sector following neoliberal principles: unbundling of the power industry, privatisation of assets and commodification of electricity. This paper shows that the reform was primarily driven by the need to secure electricity supply and cut down tariffs. These national objectives ousted other issues, and notably those that find their expression at the urban level, among which the question of access to electricity in Metro Manila's urban poor communities. The central state withdrew its attention from the issue of electrification, and local actors had to react as they were confronted to social tensions and practices of pilferage. As a consequence, city governments and local administrations are getting involved in this issue, which opens the way to participation of civil society. This paper shows how the “rolling back” of the central state led to new partnerships and arrangements between the distribution utility, local governments and community organisations. This movement points to an urbanisation of energy issues, which could bring positive results for end-users provided that it is accompanied by a clearer regulatory framework. Keywords: Urban poor; Electrification; Philippines (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:enepol:v:78:y:2015:i:c:p:225-234 DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2014.11.005 Access Statistics for this article Energy Policy is currently edited by N. France More articles in Energy Policy from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.