A review of major factors in restructuring power markets in developing countries

The issues facing the restructuring of the electricity supply industry (ESI) in developing countries, especially in Asia, are different in many important ways from the factors that drive the reforms in the West. Chief among these differences are the need for the creation of a national grid, the directive role of government-policy in matters pertaining to this key sector of the national economy, and great differences in the way in which a power market should be designed for these countries. The inherited pre-reform organisational structures are also very different and this impacts on feasible post-reform options. This paper discusses several of these issues and places emphasis on transmission system organization and management in ESI reform. An alternative viewpoint in respect of ownership, management, organizational structure, and power market projects, is developed in the paper.