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EAP - The Pacific Infrastructure Challenge - World Bank (2006).pdf

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Figure A.9: Access to Electricity<br />

100<br />

90<br />

% Population with Access to Electricity<br />

80<br />

70<br />

60<br />

50<br />

40<br />

30<br />

20<br />

10<br />

Source: Castalia Research, SOPAC.<br />

0<br />

Solomon Islands<br />

Timor<br />

Vanuatu<br />

Kiribati<br />

FSM<br />

PNG<br />

Palau<br />

Fiji<br />

Tonga<br />

Jamaica<br />

St Kitts<br />

Samoa<br />

Dominica<br />

St Lucia<br />

Grenada<br />

Marshall Islands<br />

Barbados<br />

New Zealand<br />

Notes: PNG: Papua New Guinea, FSM: Federated States of Micronesia<br />

Price<br />

Electricity prices are driven primarily by four factors: 39<br />

1. <strong>The</strong> cost of primary energy used to generate electricity. <strong>The</strong> highest cost tends to be<br />

imported fossil fuels. Countries with substantial hydro generation (such as Fiji)<br />

could be expected to have lower generation costs<br />

2. <strong>The</strong> underlying costs of the generation, transmission and distribution assets which<br />

are influenced by geographical dispersal of the population, the particular technologies<br />

used, the age of the assets, and the efficiency with which they are operated<br />

3. <strong>The</strong> efficiency of each of: primary energy supply, generation, transmission or<br />

distribution unit, and utilities’ performance in minimizing system losses and<br />

maximizing the electricity delivered to consumers from each unit of primary energy<br />

input.<br />

4. presents system losses<br />

5. <strong>The</strong> extent to which government subsidizes electricity supply 40 .<br />

Figure A10 below presents average electricity tariffs for the <strong>Pacific</strong> and comparator<br />

countries. Residential tariffs are often cross-subsidized by commercial tariffs. <strong>The</strong>se data<br />

reflect the average tariffs across all customers.<br />

39 This section of the report uses prices as the basis for analysis rather than costs because reliable information<br />

about costs was very difficult to obtain. Prices do not necessarily reflect costs, but in absence of cost data,<br />

prices are the only reasonable proxy. Given the prevalence of subsidization of electricity considerable care in<br />

interpreting this data is needed.<br />

40 For example, FSM had access to considerable rural electrification programs from the United States<br />

91

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