Water Price Regulation: A Review of Portuguese Tariff Recommendations

Rita Martins, Luís Cruz and Eduardo Barata

Public Organization Review, 2013, vol. 13, issue 2, 197-205

Abstract: The context of severe economic crisis and financial constraints has reinforced existing pressures on services considered to be of community interest by public authorities and therefore subject to specific public service obligations. This is the case of the water industry, with increased pressure for full cost recovery and on the use of prices as a tool for the management of water resources in EU countries. The Portuguese situation confirms these trends and the expected increases in water tariffs raise special concerns. In these volatile times it is particularly relevant to analyze the management and regulatory work of the Portuguese Water and Waste Services Regulation Authority, which recently acquired extended powers in pricing regulation. Findings reveal a complexity of tariff schemes in Portuguese municipalities, with tariff recommendations being a clear commitment to selected economic theory proposals and the harmonization of price schemes in the heterogeneous water utilities national context. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Keywords: Economic regulation; Tariffs; Water utilities; Ownership; Management models; Portugal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:porgrv:v:13:y:2013:i:2:p:197-205

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DOI: 10.1007/s11115-013-0230-2

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