PREGUNTA # 153                Tema: Normas            Clase No:   8 _

¨ Por que monopolio en servicios de agua, o clausula de exclusividad de una concesiones. ? _

RESPUESTA:

En subsidios cruzados es indispensable poder aplicarlos integralmente entre todos estratos y usuarios.

ACLARACION:

Exclusivity (Monopolio en los servicios de agua) Most concessionaires in the water and sanitation sector are granted the exclusive right to provide services in their concession areas. Exclusivity is often justified on the basis that it reduces revenue risk -- and thus increases the attractiveness of projects with high capital costs and long amortization periods. It is also advocated as a way to protect the revenues of concessionaires that are required to cross-subsidize some groups of consumers; exclusivity prevents competitors from "cherry picking" customers who are charged high prices to support the cross-subsidy scheme. Exclusivity is obviously to the disadvantage of industrial or high-volume domestic users, who are typically the cross~subsidizers. These users would benefit from low prices in a competitive service market. But exclusivity can also be quite harmful to the low-income households who are expected to benefit from a cross-subsidy tariff. Exclusivity illegalizes and suppresses the emergence of alternative service providers within the concession area, even in parts of the concessionaire area that the private utility does not plan to serve in the near future. This could delay improvements or even reduce existing water and sanitation options because only the concessionaire is authorized to provide service within the concession area. .... Exclusivity and other provisions aimed at reducing competition need to be treated with caution in the design of "pro-poof' concession arrangements because they have the potential to cause harm if strictly enforced by either the concessionaire or the regulator. It is important to point out that, in this case, Aguas del Illimani has permitted and even expanded some alternative water distribution Systems within its service area. The Municipality of El Alto provides water delivery by tanker truck to some areas, and in July 1998 Aguas del Illimani initiated a similar service for households without access to the water network. Moreover, Aguas del Illimani requested arid received authorization from the Superintendent of Waters not to meet the contract's schedule for metering and removing communal standposts. Nonetheless, Aguas del Illimani remains the monopoly decision-maker over all service options in its service area. We do not know whether poor and/or rich households would get a better deal in a more open service market, but exclusivity provisions in concession contracts clearly CLOSE DOWN the possibility of employing COMPETITION in the market to reduce prices, improve service, or provide alternative service options. Referencia: pg. 26, 27 de "Designing pro-poor water and sewer concessions. Early lessons from Bolivia", Kristin Komives, The World Bank, 1999. =======================----------------------

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