From the Foreword to Empowering People: A Governance Analysis of Electricity, launched today at "Addressing Climate Change through Better Governance: Forestry and Electricity," a side event at the 2007 meeting of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in New York City:

With the power sector in desperate need of capital — more than $6.5 trillion is required in developing countries by 2030 — governments and international actors have focused on attracting private investment. But investment has in fact declined. Politically unacceptable reforms and ineffective regulatory regimes have not made for a favorable investment climate.

There is, of course, far more to the challenge than merely attracting capital. Electricity lights our homes and powers industry. In many developing countries service quality remains unreliable — even for those who can afford to pay high prices. Expanding access to the 1.6 billion people worldwide who live without electricity, and improving the quality and reliability of electricity supply are urgent socio-economic priorities.

At the same time, the power sector is associated with serious environmental problems, from local air pollution to the disruption of water ecosystems. Mitigating carbon emissions from electricity generation is central to addressing global climate change. Citizens and consumers are increasingly vocal about their dissatisfaction with the results of sector reform, which has largely been implemented without public input or accountability.

This report calls attention to the challenges of governing the power sector — of arranging processes, institutions, actors and incentives to align investment with social, environmental, and economic objectives. People who speak for the poor, the environment, and the public interest can play an important role in this new alignment. The authors conclude that successful social and environmental outcomes of power sector development are more likely if policy and regulation are open to public debate and scrutiny.

The analysis presented in this report is based on the work of the Electricity Governance Initiative (EGI), a unique collaboration of civil society, policymakers, regulators, and other electricity sector actors to assess policy and regulation using a common framework to defi ne "good governance." Assessments have been completed in Thailand, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. EGI provides a toolkit to help civil society understand and infl uence decision-making in this technically complex sector.

To create a sustainable energy future, governments and the international community must reach out to civil society and empower people to be effective participants in electricity governance.

by Jonathan Lash, President, World Resources Institute; and Girish Sant, Trustee, Prayas Energy Group