Browse by: "PRE-2008"

The natural gas sector in Argentina is undergoing profound change as a result of regulatory and structural reforms launched at the end of the 1980s. Critical to achieving national economic restructuring, these reform measures were aimed at improving economic efficiency and increasing investment through greater reliance on market forces and new opportunities for private capital. This report -- the first IEA study to focus on Argentina -- critically reviews the impact of gas-sector reforms. It identifies challenges that policy makers, regulatory and competition authorities still confront, in particular the promotion of competition in gas supply.

This is the fifth study in a series on the future costs of generating electricity. It reviews cost estimates for power plants using nuclear, coal, gas and renewable energy sources. Experts from fourteen OECD countries and five non-OECD countries provided estimated costs for investment, for operations and maintenance, and for fuel for more than 70 power plants. A uniform, consistent method of analysis produces comparable, levelised costs of electricity (cents/kWh). The study also analyses the effects on generation costs of variations in economic lifetime, plant load, and fossil fuel price escalation. An authoritative reference in the field, this publication will be especially useful to electricity system analysts and experts in electric power economics.

Energy use patterns and trends are shaped by the decisions of hundreds of millions of individuals, households, and organisations. Understanding this complex fabric of energy use, and the consequent carbon dioxide emissions, is vital to developing effective policies in support of energy security, economic prosperity, and environmental protection. This book illustrates how indicators can extract from that fabric the most important links among energy uses, behaviour, the economy, and government policy. It explains how energy use has evolved in the past and what is influencing it now, and provides insights on what could shape it in the future. This represents an important step in better understanding the link between energy use and human activity.