Getting Electricity - Doing Business
Getting electricityIt does not have to be this way. Getting anelectricity connection in Sweden takes acustomer only 3 interactions with the utility and 52 days (figure 2). Inspections arelimited.1 The private utility, Vattenfall, usesa geographic information system (GIS)device enabling it to prepare an estimate ofthe connection fees without going on-site.A licensed electrician guarantees that theGetting an electricity connection in Tajikistan requires 9 procedures and 238 days250225Time (days)2001751501251007550Externalpriva connectiote elenctrica works byl contractorInTajik spectionofAgency fo meter byr StandardsInspectionof completelect ed worksricitycomp byanyInspecState tion ofcompAgenlecy for Ene ted workrgy Super s byvisionSupply confinal tract andconnectionConnectionand designapproval0Excavation permit25Aptechn plicationaical condit ndExterionsnal inspectionbfor E y State Anergy Sup gencyervisionThe first and longest step is to get thetechnical specifications (or conditions) forthe external connection. During the winterthis can be a source of delay—indeed, thelongest delay—because of the electricity supply shortage in that season. To avoidoverburdening the electricity network, theelectricity company, Barki Tojik, postponesthe issuance of the specifications. Afterthis step is completed, the State Agency forEnergy Supervision inspects the constructionsite twice, once before the connection worksare carried out and once afterward, to ensurethat the new external and internal installations meet the technical standards. The utility also inspects the connection works, andthe Tajik Agency for Standards checks themeter. The process also requires an excavation permit and approvals of the connectiondesign from multiple organizations.FIGURE 1ProceduresSource: Doing Business database.FIGURE 2Getting an electricity connection in Sweden takes only 3 steps and 52 days605040Time (days)A young entrepreneur who manufactureshome furnishings in Dushanbe, Tajikistan,is working hard to expand her business bysetting up a new warehouse. She negotiatedfinancing with the bank, spent weeks gettingbuilding and operating permits and investedin new machinery as well as a new building.She has employees lined up and is ready toget started. But she will have to wait. She stillneeds to get a new electricity connection forthe warehouse—a process that takes morethan 7 months and 9 interactions with theutility and other agencies (figure 1).3020100Application and estimationof connection feesExternal works bydistribution utilityProceduresSource: Doing Business database.Certification of internal wiringby electrical contractor, meterinstallation and final connection
DOING BUSINESS 2012internal wiring meets the standards. BecauseVattenfall carries out the external works, italso takes care of related procedures, suchas inspecting the works and approving theirdesign. The utility is also responsible forgetting any materials needed and obtainingapprovals from public agencies, such as anexcavation permit. Vattenfall’s quality ofservice standards set strict time limits for itswork, in compliance with the Swedish EnergyAgency’s policies. The utility usually meetsthese standards, but if it takes an unreasonable amount of time to connect a customer,the customer can complain to the EnergyMarkets Inspectorate.Doing Business measures the procedures,time and cost for a small to medium-sizebusiness to get a new electricity connectionfor a standardized warehouse with standardized electricity needs (figure 3).2 The warehouse is assumed to be located in the largestbusiness city, in an area where electricityis most easily available. Around the world,electricity connections are provided by distribution utilities that often retain monopolistic positions even in otherwise liberalizedelectricity markets. Businesses and othercustomers have little choice.GETTING ELECTRICITYFIGURE 3GenerationDoing Business measures the connection process at the level of distribution utilitiesTransmissionDistributionNew connectionsNetwork operation and maintenanceMetering and billingCustomerFIGURE 4Firms consider electricity one of their biggest constraintsShare of managers identifying issue as the most serious obstacle to their business operation (%)practicesWHY DOES GETTING ELECTRICITYMATTER?Infrastructure services, particularly electricity,are a concern for businesses around the world.World Bank Enterprise Surveys show thatmanagers in 109 economies, 71 of them lowor lower-middle-income economies, considerelectricity to be among the biggest constraintsto their business (figure 4). In addition, managers estimated losses due to power outages atan average 5.1% of annual sales.3 Studies haveshown that poor electricity supply adverselyaffects the productivity of firms and the investments they make in their productive capacity.4Researchers estimate that eliminating theelectricity outages in Eastern Europe andCentral Asia would increase GDP by 0.5%.5It is therefore essential for businesses to havereliable, good-quality electricity supply.But whether electricity services are reliable or not, the first step for customers isto get a new connection, the process measured by the getting electricity indicators.This process represents only a small partNote: The data sample includes 109 economies.Source: World Bank Enterprise Surveys (2006–10 data).of electricity services. Yet the indicatorsoffer information on a number of issues forwhich data were previously unavailable,complementing other indicators measuring outcomes such as outages. Analysis ofdata for 140 economies suggests that thegetting electricity indicators can serve as auseful proxy for the broader performanceof the electricity sector.6 Greater time andcost to get an electricity connection areassociated with lower electrification rates.Additional connection procedures aremore likely to occur in economies wherethe electricity supply is weak as a resultof high losses in the transmission anddistribution systems.Electricity services are among the mostregulated areas of economic activity.Whether better sector performance ininfrastructure services can be linked tothe quality of regulatory institutions hasalready received attention from researchers and policy makers. A study covering28 developing economies found that ahigh quality of regulatory governance isassociated with higher per capita electricity generation.7The connection process is governed bymany laws and regulations covering quality of service, general safety, technicalstandards, procurement practices and internal wiring installations. And it involvesinstitutions including utilities, municipalities, testing agencies, transport agencies,regulatory agencies and agencies responsible for safety controls. Doing Businessgives insights into the regulatory aspectssurrounding electricity connections and2
DOING BUSINESS 2012GETTING ELECTRICITYmeasures how such regulations and institutions affect businesses when getting anew connection. Doing Business can helpidentify the bottlenecks in a connectionprocess. What policy makers and regulators can do is facilitate this first step.TABLE 1Where is getting electricity easy—and where not?Ease of getting electricity (rank)aEasiestRANKMost difficultRANKIceland1Sierra Leone174Germany2Belarus175Taiwan, China3Nigeria176Hong KongSAR, Madagascar179Uruguay7Guinea-Bissau180Sweden8Kyrgyz tRANKThailandUnited ArabEmiratesProcedures Japan3Nigeria8Micronesia, Fed.Sts.3Sierra Leone8Qatar3Azerbaijan9St. Vincent andthe d4Ukraine11RANKSlowestRANKGermany17Vanuatu257St. Kitts ech Republic279Taiwan, China23RussianFederation281Time (days)FastestHOW DOES GETTING ELECTRICITYVARY AROUND THE WORLD?Getting an electricity connection is easiestin Iceland, where it takes 4 procedures and22 days, and Germany, where it takes 3 procedures and 17 days (table 1). In economieswhere the process is most efficient, requiring fewer interactions of the customer withauthorities and less time, the utilities oftencarry out the external connection worksthemselves. As part of this, they obtain thenecessary approvals, streamlining procedures with other agencies. Doing Businessmeasures the number of interactions, thetime and the cost a customer faces whenapplying for a new connection.8 Efficientutilities set standards for the quality of theirservices, to ensure that customers bear noextra costs or delays. And they ensure thesafety of consumers, but without imposingan unnecessary burden on the customer. Inmany of these same economies the safety ofinstallations is guaranteed by regulating theelectrical profession rather than imposingadditional checks.Getting an electricity connection in smallstates involves unique circumstances.9 Thedemand for connections is usually smaller,for example, and the regulatory frameworksless complex. The process takes an averageof 4.8 procedures and 89 days in small states(table 2), faster on average than in largerstates. Compare this with the same processin a large economy such as Canada, whereit requires 8 interactions with the utility andother agencies, takes more than 5.5 monthsTABLE 2and costs 1.5 times income per capita. Butthis is not always the case. In Vanuatu, getting a new connection takes more than 8.5months because the utility takes a long timein procuring distribution transformers thathave to be imported.Challenges in getting an electricity connection vary across regions. The process iseasiest on average in OECD high-incomeeconomies (table 3). Procedures betweenthe utility and other public agencies arestreamlined, and utilities usually haveenough capacity to accommodate additionaldemand with a simple network extension.The connection process is most complexin Eastern Europe and Central Asia. There,connection works and design are usuallyoutsourced by the utility to private electrical contractors and design companies, butthen have to be approved and inspected bymultiple public agencies, including the utility.Businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa face thehighest average connection cost, around5,400% of income per capita. In most of theregion’s economies the electricity networkhas limited capacity. As a result, even thestandard connection type covered by DoingBusiness often requires that customerspurchase a distribution transformer and hirean electrical contractor to install it. In someeconomies transformers are not availableat the utility or in the marketplace, causingadditional delays. Mauritius and Rwandaare exceptions. In Mauritius, where gettinga connection takes 4 procedures and 3Which small states make getting electricity easy—and which do not?RankProcedures(number)Time(days)Cost(% of incomeper capita)Income percapita (US )EasiestSingapore543631.1St. Lucia13425241.140,9204,970Antigua and Barbuda16442150.110,610St. Lucia25Kyrgyz Republic337Papua New Guinea2046666.91,300Rwanda30Bangladesh372St. Vincent and the Grenadines21352307.94,850Chile31Madagascar450Most difficultPuerto 0Vanuatu14752571,171.32,760Côte d’Ivoire33Seychelles1496147504.89,490a. Rankings are the simple average of the economy’s percentilerankings on the procedures, time and cost to get an electricityconnection. See the data notes for 74552,049.6540Source: Doing Business database.Source: Doing Business database; World Bank 2011.Liberia5863
DOING BUSINESS 2012months, connection materials and meteringequipment are usually available in the utility’s stock. In Rwanda the process takes 4procedures and 1 month.10 Another challengein Sub-Saharan Africa is lack of safety controls, such as for internal wiring. In nearly halfthe region’s economies the internal installation in the case study warehouse is neverchecked before the building is connected tothe network.Getting an electricity connection takesthe least time in Latin America and theCaribbean. Most connections are overhead,demanding less work and time to installthan underground connections. But securitydeposits can impose a burden. Most utilitiesrequire a security deposit from customers,averaging about 20,000.In high-income economies in the Middle Eastand North Africa connection works usuallyrequire a simple line extension to the closestpoint of supply. And in all these economiesexcept Saudi Arabia, the distribution utilityinspects the internal wiring installation or requires installation by an electrical contractorregistered with the utility. But in lower-incomeeconomies in the region businesses face challenges similar to those in Sub-Saharan Africa.Getting a connection often requires theinstallation of a distribution transformer, andinternal wiring goes unchecked.In East Asia and the Pacific getting a newelectricity connection takes 5 procedures, 3months and more than 10 times income percapita on average. In most of the region’seconomies the new connection requiresan expansion of the network as well as anexcavation permit, which the customermust obtain in a quarter of the region’seconomies.WHO REFORMED THECONNECTION PROCESS—AND WHAT HAS WORKED?Economies where getting an electricityconnection is easy have several good practices in common. Some are being adopted byother economies. Over the past 2 years 18economies took measures to make it easierto get an electricity connection, including 9economies in the past year (table 4).GETTING ELECTRICITYTABLE 3Which regions make getting electricity easy—and which do not?Time(days)Cost(% of incomeper capita)RankProcedures(number)OECD high income544.710393Middle East & North Africa715.1791,317Latin America & Caribbean725.565594East Asia & Pacific754.8881,079Sub-Saharan Africa1225.21375,430South Asia1285.61451,776Eastern Europe & Central Asia1296.6168751Source: Doing Business database.TABLE 4Who made getting electricity easier in 2010/11—and what did they do?FeatureEconomiesSome highlightsImproved processefficiencyAfghanistan; BruneiDarussalam; Hong KongSAR, China; Latvia; TongaLatvia simplified the approval process for externalconnection designs for simpler projects. The newregulations reduced the time required for preparationand approval of project designs by 45 days.Improved regulation ofconnection costsRussian Federation;SwitzerlandSwitzerland revised the conditions for connections,reducing the cost to get an electricity connection by7.41% of income per capita.StreamlinedproceduresHong Kong SAR, ChinaHong Kong SAR, China, increased the efficiency of publicagencies and streamlined the utility’s procedures withother government agencies, cutting the time to get aconnection by more than half.Reduced financialburden of securitydepositsLebanonLebanon reduced the security deposit for a newconnection by 80%.Reduced time byoutsourcing task tocustomerThe GambiaThe Gambia started allowing customers to choose private,prequalified contractors to do the external connectionworks. This cut the total time, part of which was previouslyspent by the utility on tendering, by 100 days.Source: Doing Business database.Streamlining approvals by utilities and otherpublic agencies is among the most effectiveways to reduce connection delays and theduplication of formalities. In Germany thecustomer has few interactions with agencies.Procedures are limited to submitting the application, concluding a supply contract andcompleting the connection works. No wonderthe process takes only 17 days on average.their customers. Among the procedures mostcommonly transferred to customers is applying to the municipality or the department ofroads or transport for an excavation permitor right of way so that the utility can lay thecables or extend wires for the connection.Customers seeking a connection undertakesuch procedures in 48 economies. Wait timesrange from 1 day in Algeria and West Bank andGaza to 60 days in Mongolia and RepúblicaBolivariana de Venezuela. In Ireland obtainingan excavation permit for less than 100 meterstakes only a couple of days. Beyond thatdistance a road risk control analysis is needed,which delays the process by 3 months. In theArab Republic of Egypt customers have tocontact 2 agencies to obtain an excavationpermit: the district office and the GreaterCairo Utility Data Center.Where delays occur because other publicagencies are excessively bureaucratic, someutilities shift the administrative hassle toEfficient utilities engage with other serviceproviders to ensure that working relationships are clear and function smoothly. TakeAmong the most effective and commonfeatures have been streamlining procedures with public agencies or within theutility, regulating the electrical professionto ensure the quality of internal wiring, increasing the transparency of the connectioncost and lessening the burden of securitydeposits (table 5).Streamlining approval processes4
DOING BUSINESS 2012Tonga is another example. After reviewingpast practices and procedures, the electricitycommission produced a formal operationsmanual for supervising electrical safety andset time limits of 7–15 days for each stage ofthe internal wiring inspection. This resultedin a reduction of 8 days in the time taken bythe commission to inspect the internal wiring over the past year.Regulating the electrical professionThe safety of internal wiring installations isa concern not only for those using a buildingbut also for utilities. One customer’s faultyinternal wiring can lead to power outagesaffecting other customers connected to thesame distribution line. In most economiescustomers therefore need to comply withcertain procedures aimed at ensuring quality. But the approach taken to address safetyissues varies (figure 6).TABLE 5Good practices around the world in making it easy to get an electricity connectionPracticeEconomiesaExamplesStreamlining theapproval processbetween the utility andother public agenciesHong Kong SAR, China;MoldovaMoldova eliminated duplication in internal wiringinspections. Before 2010, both the utility and the StateEnergy Inspectorate inspected the internal wiring,effectively doing the same job twice. Now only the StateEnergy Inspectorate inspects the internal installations.Ensuring the safetyof internal wiring byregulating the electrical profession, ratherthan the connectionprocessDenmark; Germany;Iceland; Japan; SingaporeIn Germany only master electricians licensed with thechamber of commerce and holding a craftsman diplomaare authorized to install internal wiring. Master electriciansin Berlin are registered with and certified by the utility.Assured by the electricians’ qualification process, the utilityperforms no internal inspections of the warehouse.Providing transparentconnection costs andprocessesFrance; Germany; Ireland;Netherlands; Trinidad andTobago; United KingdomIn 108 of 181 economies connection fees are easilyaccessible through websites, regulations, laws and utilities’announcement boards. Many utilities provide informationon the step-by-step process of getting an electricityconnection. In France the utility publishes details ondifferent connection schemes, including the procedures andcosts, on its website.Reducing the financialburden of securitydeposits for new connectionsIn 97 of 183 economiesutilities charge no securitydeposit.In Austria the utility asks only customers with a weak credithistory to put up a security deposit. In Argentina the utilityrequires security deposits only from customers who do notown the property being connected.Setting performancerequirements for newconnections and providing customer servicestandardsBenin; Dominica;Suriname; RussianFederation; UnitedKingdomIn the United Kingdom in October 2010, the electricity andgas regulator introduced performance standards settingdeadlines for distribution utilities to issue budget estimat
ized electricity needs (figure 3).2 The ware-house is assumed to be located in the largest business city, in an area where electricity is most easily available. Around the world, electricity connections are provided by dis-tribution utilities that often retain monopo-listic positions even in otherwise liberalized electricity markets.
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What is the difference between static electricity and current electricity? Static electricity is stationary or collects on the surface of an object, whereas current electricity is flowing very rapidly through a conductor. The flow of electricity in current electricity has electrical pressure or voltage. Electric charges flow from an areaFile Size: 767KB
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Division 1 - Electricity safety officers 107. Interpretation of Part 7 108. Appointment of electricity safety officers 109. Entity and retailer to keep and maintain register 110. Reporting to Director 111. Electricity safety officer identity card 112. Electricity safety officers may enter land or premises in relation to electricity .
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