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182. Electricity Restructuring
- Author:
- John A. Riggs and Paul Runci
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- Over the July 4th weekend, seventy current and former government officials and experts from industry, academia, and consumer and environmental public interest groups met to discuss the state of the U.S. electricity industry. The lack of progress in addressing critical electricity issues will increase costs and reduce performance in the electricity sector over the next several years. The long-term future of electricity supply and demand is also clouded by the absence of clear and stable government policies.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Government, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
183. Russia's Winter Woes: Tariff Setting for Local Utilities in a Transition Economy
- Author:
- Sergei Sivaev, Raymond J. Struyk, Valentin Andrianov, and Emin Askerov
- Publication Date:
- 04-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- During the past two winters, breakdowns in district heating services in Russia have grabbed international headlines. In Russia these services and water and sewerage services are the responsibility of municipal governments; these governments set the tariffs for these services. This article examines the tariff-setting process during 1997–2001 for these two services with particular emphasis on the decision process for considering tariff increases. We find that little progress has been made during the transition period in developing the legal base for rational tariff-setting procedures. Overall, tariff increases have been substantially less than the rate of inflation. Statistical analysis confirms that decisionmaking is highly politicized and that in times of extreme inflation tariff increases lag even further behind inflation, with the sector being used as a kind of shock absorber to cushion the full impacts of inflation on the population. There is an obvious acute need for leadership at the national level to address these problems.
- Topic:
- Development, Energy Policy, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Asia
184. Russia's Role in the Shifting World Oil Market
- Author:
- Lynne Kiesling and Joseph Becker
- Publication Date:
- 05-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Recent changes in Russia's domestic oil industry have had dramatic effects on world oil markets, including Russia's emergence as the number two exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia. These effects are occurring even though Russia is not close to fully exploiting its reserves. Russia's oil industry has large growth prospects, and this potential will allow Moscow to take a greater market share away from OPEC in the future. A number of factors will facilitate this trend. Russia's target oil price is lower than OPEC's, which gives it an incentive to continue exporting beyond OPEC's wishes. Also, Russia's oil industry is more privatized than the oil industries in Persian Gulf states, which allows it to be more entrepreneurial in attracting investment and joint ventures.
- Topic:
- Security, Energy Policy, and International Organization
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, Middle East, Moscow, and Kabardino
185. Security of European Natural Gas Supplies
- Author:
- Jonathan Stern
- Publication Date:
- 07-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- Security of natural gas supplies has resurfaced on the European energy agenda because of concerns about an anticipated rapid increase in dependence on imports from non-European suppliers – from one-third to two-thirds of demand – over the next 20 years. On a national basis, European import dependence is already an established fact: nine out of 33 European countries are more than 95% dependent on imports; only five are self-sufficient or net exporters.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Industrial Policy, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- Europe
186. The European Union: Energy Security and the Periphery
- Author:
- John Gault
- Publication Date:
- 08-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
- Abstract:
- Europe relies upon imported energy, and the degree of this reliance will increase in coming decades. Internal (primarily North Sea) production of liquid fuels will decline, and production of natural gas will reach a plateau, so that incremental hydrocarbon requirements will necessarily come from external sources. This trend of rising energy imports has important security implications.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Energy Policy
- Political Geography:
- Europe
187. Transatlantic Energy Security and the Caspian Basin: Moving Towards a Common Agenda
- Author:
- Adam N. Stulberg and Hendrik Cosijn
- Publication Date:
- 08-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- Once considered an impediment to stable development and a catalyst for a new “Great Game,” Caspian energy may play a stabilizing role in world markets and geopolitics after all. With the West's growing dependence on hydrocarbon imports, growing tensions in the Middle East, and Moscow's emergence as a major player in 21st century energy politics, the Caspian region is poised to become a focal point for cooperation between the United States, Europe, and Russia. Policymakers in Washington, Brussels, and Moscow share a common interest in preventing the Caspian Basin from lapsing into another Persian Gulf, where windfalls in oil revenues have fueled instability and extremism. They also recognize that efforts to extract and export Caspian energy must advance regional development and stability. Thus far, however, shared interests have not yielded real transatlantic partnership on Caspian energy issues. Different strategic orientations and preferred approaches for unlocking Caspian energy threaten to mar prospects for broadening and deepening transatlantic cooperation in the region. To date, the U.S., Europe, and Russia have pursued parochial interests in the Caspian Basin without much regard for each other. The time is ripe for American, European, and Russian policymakers to take stock of the burgeoning confluence of interests, mount a concerted effort to prevent backsliding, and cement a common agenda by forging a trilateral dialogue on Caspian energy issue.
- Topic:
- Security and Energy Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, Washington, Asia, and Moscow
188. The United States, Europe, and Russia: Toward a Global Energy Security Policy
- Author:
- David L. Goldwyn
- Publication Date:
- 08-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- Together, the United States, Europe, and Russia can help to diversify the global energy supply by creating a Global Strategic Petroleum Reserve (GSPR) filled largely with oil from Russia and other states in the Caspian Basin. Such a move would mitigate U.S. and European dependence on Middle East oil and help to stabilize world oil prices. Other important beneficiaries of a GSPR would be the Asia-Pacific economies outside the OECD that currently lack strategic reserves. A GSPR offering access to China and other Asian economies would help anchor these states in an important, positive-sum arrangement that highlights shared energy security interests with Russia and the West. If managed responsibly, creating the GSPR will not antagonize OPEC countries, which themselves benefit from stable energy markets. Moreover, developing the GSPR will encourage the reform and modernization of Russian and other transition countries' energy economies and give real substance to collaboration on energy issues between Russia, the EU, and the U.S. If coupled with close collaboration on Caspian energy development, the creation of a GSPR would make U.S. and EU energy ties with Russia and its neighbors sources of substantial, long-term strength.
- Topic:
- Security and Energy Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, Middle East, and Asia
189. Shusha's Pivotal Role in a Nagorno-Karabagh Settlement
- Author:
- Elchin Amirbayov
- Publication Date:
- 12-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Peace in Nagorno - Karabagh will demand painful compromises from both Armenia and Azerbaijan. A “winner's peace” — one that only reflects the military gains of one side — will not foster long - term resolution of the conflict. The Shusha region of Nagorno - Karabagh has special symbolic meaning for Azerbaijanis. A key element in obtaining Azerbaijani acceptance of a peace agreement is the return of the Shusha region to Azerbaijani control and the guaranteed right of internally displaced Azerbaijani persons to return to the Shusha region.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Democratization, and Energy Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Asia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan
190. A Russian Reporter in Chechnya: One Experience (Event Summary)
- Author:
- Anna Politkovskaya
- Publication Date:
- 11-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Anna Politkovskaya, special correspondent for Novaya Gazeta, covers the war in Chechnya, having spent two years on the ground there. In October 2001, she relocated to Vienna due to death threats she had received. Politkovskaya is presently being provided working space by the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Democratization, and Energy Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Asia