The judicialization of quality regulation and the loss of electrical power supply to peripheral areas

This study analyzes the results from a structural change in the regulation of the public electricity service implemented as a national reform in the late 1990s. We compared the quality of the electricity supply for two companies, one private and one public, operating in the northern Brazil. The qual...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inRevista de administração pública (Rio de Janeiro) Vol. 47; no. 2; p. 403
Main Authors Maurílio de Abreu Monteiro, Ravena, Nirvia, Cláudio Luciano da Rocha Conde
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Portuguese
Published Rio de Janeiro Fundação Getulio Vargas, Revista de Administração Pública 01.03.2013
Subjects
Electric utilities
Electricity distribution
Judicial process
Power supply
Regulation
Regulatory reform
Studies
Brazil
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Summary:This study analyzes the results from a structural change in the regulation of the public electricity service implemented as a national reform in the late 1990s. We compared the quality of the electricity supply for two companies, one private and one public, operating in the northern Brazil. The quality indicators for the supplied energy deteriorated for the private company, and once penalized by the regulatory agency, the company systematically judicialized the punitive processes. This strategy was not observed in the actions taken by the public company. The possibility for institutional judicialization occurs because these agencies are dependent on judicial frameworks, which operate within a logic that is structurally different than managerial logic. We concluded that judicialization creates the opportunity for procrastination-based behaviors within the context of the regulatory framework for public services, thereby impeding the public strategy of regulation.
ISSN:0034-7612
1982-3134