one of the effective methods for improving the efficiency of an organization is benchmarking against successful organizations. not only benchmarking could be a technique for identifying problems but also it greatly helps managers in relations of the design of processes. among strategic and infrastructure industries in each country, the electricity industry is one of the most important and criti...

This paper analyzes the cost efficiency and optimal scale of the electricity distribution industry in Taiwan. Due to the substantial difference in network density, firms may differ widely in production technology. We employ the stochastic metafrontier approach to estimate the cost efficiency of 24 distribution units during the period of 1997 and 2002. Empirical results find that the average cos...

What effect does firm structure have on the product service quality on offer? We answer this question by empirically assessing the impacts of complete vertical separation, such as ownership unbundling, on the quality of service delivered by a liberalized network industry. Electricity distribution utilities in New Zealand are considered for this purpose. The results show robust evidence that own...

This paper describes how semantic web and agent technologies could be used in enhancing the electricity distribution systems. The paper starts by a brief overview of functioning of electricity distribution systems. The introduced approaches aim at improving functionality of electricity distribution network systems and assisting the experts by supporting automating routine tasks in daily operati...

This is the 12th article in a series highlighting the case studies of DSM Task XV, Network Driven DSM. This Task demonstrated that DSM can be successfully used to support electricity networks in two main ways 1) by relieving constraints on distribution and/ or transmission networks at lower costs than building ‘poles and wires’ solutions, and 2) by providing services for electricity network sys...

Due to rising fossil fuel and electricity prices and the overall need to reduce carbon emissions, there is a growing interest in the utilisation of micro-generation amongst electricity consumers and governments alike. Electricity consumers are installing small scale generators on their premises, which are also being connected to existing low voltage (LV) electricity supply networks. High penetr...

Demand response Allows the management of customer consumption of electricity in response to supply conditions. Distributed generation Electric energy that is distributed to the grid from many decentralized locations, such as from wind farms and solar panel installations. Distribution grid The part of the grid dedicated to delivering electric energy directly to residential, commercial, and indus...