Public Services International Research Unit
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Activity 2.1
Public Utilities: how are they organised, to whom are they accountable


FOCUS

To understand the different ways that public sector enterprises are structured

To identify the advantages of accountability (and how the reality may fall short of this)

 

TASKS:

Either: Consider how electricity distribution /water supply is organised in France, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, UK (and your own country).

  • Who are the organisations accountable to?
  • How effectively is the public interest protected?
  • Is there protection for the environment?
  • How are social objectives achieved eg universal access to affordable energy/water?

Or: Municipalities run utilities such as water, electricity, gas, and refuse collection in various ways. What are the advantages and disadvantages of these different structures?

  • Running them as part of the municipal budget, like social services
  • Setting up separate trading accounts for them, but with spending and other management decisions still reported to a committee of the public authority
  • Setting up an arms length company, 100% owned by the local authority, which exercises the ultimate power of the shareholder

Or: Which of the following apply to water supply organisations in your country:

  • Elected representatives can and do make key decisions eg on the price of water
  • Members of the public can attend meetings of the board or committee which takes management decisions
  • Senior managers are appointed by elected politicians

 

RESOURCES:

TIME

2 hours

Note for tutors

The activity should bring out the range of different structures used.

It should also bring out that accountability is a central issue for arguments over privatisation - and for criticism of publicly-run systems!