When Do Firms Generate? Evidence on In-House Electricity Supply in Africa
This paper attempts to identify the underlying causes and costs of own generation of electric power in Africa. Rigorous empirical analysis of 8483 currently operating firms in 25 African countries shows that the prevalence of own generation would remain high (at around 20%) even if power supplies we...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | EN |
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2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4962 |
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okr-10986-49622021-04-23T14:02:20Z When Do Firms Generate? Evidence on In-House Electricity Supply in Africa Steinbuks, J. Foster, V. Electric Utilities L940 Economic Development: Agriculture Natural Resources Energy Environment Other Primary Products O130 Energy: Demand and Supply Q410 This paper attempts to identify the underlying causes and costs of own generation of electric power in Africa. Rigorous empirical analysis of 8483 currently operating firms in 25 African countries shows that the prevalence of own generation would remain high (at around 20%) even if power supplies were perfectly reliable, suggesting that other factors such as firms' size, emergency back-up and export regulations play a critical role in the decision to own a generator. The costs of own-generation are about three times as high as the price of purchasing (subsidized) electricity from the public grid. However, because these generators only operate a small fraction of the time, they do not greatly affect the overall average cost of power to industry. The benefits of generator ownership are also substantial. Firms with their own generators report a value of lost load of less than US$50 per hour, compared with more than US$150 per hour for those without. Nevertheless, when costs and benefits are considered side by side, the balance is not found to be significantly positive. 2012-03-30T07:30:35Z 2012-03-30T07:30:35Z 2010 Journal Article Energy Economics 01409883 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4962 EN http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Journal Article Africa |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
EN |
| topic |
Electric Utilities L940 Economic Development: Agriculture Natural Resources Energy Environment Other Primary Products O130 Energy: Demand and Supply Q410 |
| spellingShingle |
Electric Utilities L940 Economic Development: Agriculture Natural Resources Energy Environment Other Primary Products O130 Energy: Demand and Supply Q410 Steinbuks, J. Foster, V. When Do Firms Generate? Evidence on In-House Electricity Supply in Africa |
| geographic_facet |
Africa |
| relation |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo |
| description |
This paper attempts to identify the underlying causes and costs of own generation of electric power in Africa. Rigorous empirical analysis of 8483 currently operating firms in 25 African countries shows that the prevalence of own generation would remain high (at around 20%) even if power supplies were perfectly reliable, suggesting that other factors such as firms' size, emergency back-up and export regulations play a critical role in the decision to own a generator. The costs of own-generation are about three times as high as the price of purchasing (subsidized) electricity from the public grid. However, because these generators only operate a small fraction of the time, they do not greatly affect the overall average cost of power to industry. The benefits of generator ownership are also substantial. Firms with their own generators report a value of lost load of less than US$50 per hour, compared with more than US$150 per hour for those without. Nevertheless, when costs and benefits are considered side by side, the balance is not found to be significantly positive. |
| format |
Journal Article |
| author |
Steinbuks, J. Foster, V. |
| author_facet |
Steinbuks, J. Foster, V. |
| author_sort |
Steinbuks, J. |
| title |
When Do Firms Generate? Evidence on In-House Electricity Supply in Africa |
| title_short |
When Do Firms Generate? Evidence on In-House Electricity Supply in Africa |
| title_full |
When Do Firms Generate? Evidence on In-House Electricity Supply in Africa |
| title_fullStr |
When Do Firms Generate? Evidence on In-House Electricity Supply in Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed |
When Do Firms Generate? Evidence on In-House Electricity Supply in Africa |
| title_sort |
when do firms generate? evidence on in-house electricity supply in africa |
| publishDate |
2012 |
| url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4962 |
| _version_ |
1764393408797868032 |