ADVISORY/WRI Warns Changes Needed in Reforms of Electricity Sector.

News & Assignment Editors

ADVISORY...for Thursday (June 27)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

World Resources Institute (WRI):

WHAT:   A briefing by the World Resources Institute (WRI) on a new
        report, Power Politics: Equity and Environment in Electricity
        Reform.

        Advance copies of the report are available at:
        http://www.dooleyonline.net/media_preview/index.cfm

WHEN:   Thursday, June 27, 2002 from 9:45 a.m. to 12:00 noon
        Lunch will be served

WHERE:  World Resources Institute, 10 G. Street, NE, Washington, DC
        Between Union Station and North Capitol St. Metro: Union
        Station

WHO:    Speakers include:
        John Byrne, director, Centre for Energy and
          Environmental Policy, University of Delaware

        Navroz Dubash, author and editor, World Resources Institute

        Dominique Lallement, programme manager, World Bank

        Frances Seymour, director, Institutions and Governance
          Program, World Resources Institute

WHY:    A new WRI report warns today that the way electricity sectors
        around the world are being reformed should be changed.
        Otherwise, social and environmental considerations could be
        easily swept aside in a market-driven vision of the electric
        power sector.

        The report, Power Politics: Equity and Environment in
        Electricity Reform, includes case studies of Argentina,
        Bulgaria, Ghana, India, Indonesia, and South Africa. The
        electricity crisis in California is also highlighted.

        The report concludes that with the exception of South Africa,
        there has been little political commitment to promoting
        sustainable development through electricity sector
        reforms. Without a broad vision and political support, the
        case studies indicate that public and environmental
        benefits are prey to political whims, shifting trends in
        donor assistance, and financial markets driven by
        globalization.