Regulatory Reform of Public Utilities in a Comparative Perspective – The Case of Denmark

The paper examines the following questions: What are the main reasons for the different regulatory approaches to the liberalisation of telecommunications and electricity supply? In which directions are the regulation of the two industries developing presently? Furthermore, to what extent have the policies implemented been successful? Finally, is there a relationship between the modes of regulation and the rates of success in the two sectors?

The basic answers in the paper are that the differences in regulation primarily rest on the differences in the techno-economic structures of the two industries, but that some degree of convergence between the modes of regulation has occurred lately. With respect to the rate of success, the achievements are most obvious in telecommunications where consumers benefit from lower prices and more options, while the gains are more debatable in the case of electricity. Regarding the relationship between the modes of regulation and the rates of success, the overall answer is that there is a stronger relationship between the techno-economic structures of the two sectors, on the one hand, and the modes of regulation and rates of success respectively, on the other hand, than between the different modes of regulation and the rates of success.