Performance analytics for regulation in retail water utilities: Guiding asset management by identifying peers and targets

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2023

Authors

Vilarinho, H (Author) FEUP; D'Inverno, G (Author) Other; Maria Henriqueta Nóvoa (Author) FEUP; Ana Maria Cunha Ribeiro dos Santos Ponces Camanho (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Utilities Policy

Vol. 82

ISSN: 0957-1787

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 11 Citations

Scopus - 11 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00Y-9GC

DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2023.101559

Abstract (EN): This research evaluates the performance of water supply utilities operating at the retail level in Portugal concerning asset management practices. The study's main innovative feature is identifying peers and targets to guide improvements in the sector. Reliable data collected by the regulatory authority for water and waste services in Portugal (ERSAR) are employed to design two composite indicators reflecting different dimensions of asset management: operational conditions and management systems. Based on the Data Envelopment Analysis technique, the Benefit-of-the-Doubt model is employed in robust and conditional formulations. The role of the context on utilities' performance is also investigated. The results show that the direct management model is unfavourable concerning developing structured management systems, whilst urban environments favour managerial advancement. Rural and semi-urban environments favour goodoperational results in infrastructures. The pool of peers obtained for each utility and the quantification of targets based on the observed achievements by those peers facilitates the search for industry best practices and promotes continuous improvement. Given the high heterogeneity in asset management performance within the sector, the utility-specific target-setting approach illustrated in this paper can support a regulatory policy review for determining more realistic goals.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 21