Lessons from Power Sector Reforms : The Case of Morocco

Morocco charted its own distinctive path of power sector reform. It selectively introduced private sector participation for generation capacity expansion and electricity distribution, while retaining a strong, state-owned and vertically-integrated...

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Main Authors: Usman, Zainab, Amegroud, Tayeb
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/471511565200281012/Lessons-from-Power-Sector-Reforms-The-Case-of-Morocco
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32221
id okr-10986-32221
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-322212022-09-20T00:12:39Z Lessons from Power Sector Reforms : The Case of Morocco Usman, Zainab Amegroud, Tayeb ELECTRICITY POWER SECTOR REFORM ELECTRIC UTILITIES ACCESS TO ENERGY POWER GENERATION RENEWABLE ENERGY REGULATION UNBUNDLING STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES RURAL ELECTRIFICATION SUBSIDIES Morocco charted its own distinctive path of power sector reform. It selectively introduced private sector participation for generation capacity expansion and electricity distribution, while retaining a strong, state-owned and vertically-integrated national power utility operating as a single buyer at the core of the sector. Until recently, the country eschewed an independent regulatory entity. The power sector has been guided by strong top-down policy mandates that have served to align the disparate actions of political parties and sector institutions. Ambitious targets for electricity access, liberalization, and renewable energy investments were conceived as an integrated approach to contribute to economic development by relieving fiscal pressures, reducing external dependence on fossil fuels, and positioning the country as a regional leader in renewable energy. The results have been impressive. Since 1990, Morocco has more than tripled its power supply, while growing renewable energy to account for one-third of the total and relying on the private sector to supply just over half of the electricity generated. Rural electrification has accelerated rapidly from 18 percent in 1995 to virtually 100 percent in 2017. While operational efficiency has been broadly adequate, performance has fluctuated over time. Moreover, the sector’s achievements through this selective approach to reform have come somewhat at the expense of the financial viability of the incumbent utility, the National Office for Electricity and Water (ONEE), which has suffered from lack of cost-reflective tariff-setting and an array of entrenched cross-subsidies. Other vulnerabilities include the continued but declining dependence on electricity imports, external price volatilities of imported fossil fuels, and a territorialized electricity distribution model that could be disrupted by grid integration of renewable energy. 2019-08-08T18:27:49Z 2019-08-08T18:27:49Z 2019-08 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/471511565200281012/Lessons-from-Power-Sector-Reforms-The-Case-of-Morocco http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32221 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8969 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Middle East and North Africa Morocco
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic ELECTRICITY
POWER SECTOR REFORM
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
ACCESS TO ENERGY
POWER GENERATION
RENEWABLE ENERGY
REGULATION
UNBUNDLING
STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES
RURAL ELECTRIFICATION
SUBSIDIES
spellingShingle ELECTRICITY
POWER SECTOR REFORM
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
ACCESS TO ENERGY
POWER GENERATION
RENEWABLE ENERGY
REGULATION
UNBUNDLING
STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES
RURAL ELECTRIFICATION
SUBSIDIES
Usman, Zainab
Amegroud, Tayeb
Lessons from Power Sector Reforms : The Case of Morocco
geographic_facet Middle East and North Africa
Morocco
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8969
description Morocco charted its own distinctive path of power sector reform. It selectively introduced private sector participation for generation capacity expansion and electricity distribution, while retaining a strong, state-owned and vertically-integrated national power utility operating as a single buyer at the core of the sector. Until recently, the country eschewed an independent regulatory entity. The power sector has been guided by strong top-down policy mandates that have served to align the disparate actions of political parties and sector institutions. Ambitious targets for electricity access, liberalization, and renewable energy investments were conceived as an integrated approach to contribute to economic development by relieving fiscal pressures, reducing external dependence on fossil fuels, and positioning the country as a regional leader in renewable energy. The results have been impressive. Since 1990, Morocco has more than tripled its power supply, while growing renewable energy to account for one-third of the total and relying on the private sector to supply just over half of the electricity generated. Rural electrification has accelerated rapidly from 18 percent in 1995 to virtually 100 percent in 2017. While operational efficiency has been broadly adequate, performance has fluctuated over time. Moreover, the sector’s achievements through this selective approach to reform have come somewhat at the expense of the financial viability of the incumbent utility, the National Office for Electricity and Water (ONEE), which has suffered from lack of cost-reflective tariff-setting and an array of entrenched cross-subsidies. Other vulnerabilities include the continued but declining dependence on electricity imports, external price volatilities of imported fossil fuels, and a territorialized electricity distribution model that could be disrupted by grid integration of renewable energy.
format Working Paper
author Usman, Zainab
Amegroud, Tayeb
author_facet Usman, Zainab
Amegroud, Tayeb
author_sort Usman, Zainab
title Lessons from Power Sector Reforms : The Case of Morocco
title_short Lessons from Power Sector Reforms : The Case of Morocco
title_full Lessons from Power Sector Reforms : The Case of Morocco
title_fullStr Lessons from Power Sector Reforms : The Case of Morocco
title_full_unstemmed Lessons from Power Sector Reforms : The Case of Morocco
title_sort lessons from power sector reforms : the case of morocco
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2019
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/471511565200281012/Lessons-from-Power-Sector-Reforms-The-Case-of-Morocco
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32221
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