Developing of a pricing model for Turkish lignite used in thermal plants

The objective of this paper is to develop a general pricing model for Turkish Lignite, which is mainly sold to thermal plants. This model will contribute to the development of coal mining within the scope of privatization efforts of the Turkish energy market. The paper consists of two stages. First, data of 10 thermal plants have been evaluated by using hedonic pricing analysis to determine influential price parameters. The results of hedonic regression analysis indicate the effect and importance of calorific value and electricity price on lignite prices. Second, a general coal-pricing model has been developed by taking into account the results of hedonic analysis. Comparison of the coal prices estimated by the developed pricing model and the coal prices obtained from thermal plants indicates an acceptable relation.     

THE IMPACT OF POLICY VARIABLES ON RESIDENTIAL WATER DEMAND AND RELATED INVESTMENT REQUIREMENTS1

Increasing population and urbanization necessitate very large investments in municipal water supply. These investments could be more efficiently deployed if the impact of policy variables such as marginal pricing, metering, by-laws on lawn watering and plumbing fixtures, and higher summer charges were known. The paper in particular advocates the replacement of the present declining block rate by an increasing block rate. In order to know the impact of policy variables, a multiple regression model is built; the fitted model is tested against some data not included in calibrating the model. Next the impact of selected policy variables on the target variable (residential water demand during summer) is worked out for a new urban community of 200,000 people. The investment requirements may decrease appreciably as a result of a price increase when marginal (or commodity) charges are low but the impact of price changes when commodity charges are already high is less evident and non-price policy variables may be more effective in maintaining high quality water and also satisfying the constraint of limited budgets for municipal services.     

影响中国碳价的能源价格因素灰关联研究

本文选取中国碳排放价格数据和8种能源价格指数为研究变量,运用灰色关联方法研究了中国能源价格对中国碳价的影响。研究结果发现,化石能源价格对中国碳排放价格的影响较大,特别是煤炭、成品油和基础油价格对碳价的影响最大;低污染能源中,与天然气相比,液化气价格对中国碳排放价格影响明显。研究结果指出了保持碳市场价格稳定、防范价格异常波动的重要性,并从能源价格体系和能源消费结构角度提出了政策建议。     

The ‘new’ economics of iron and steel

The author commences his analysis of the iron and steel industry by examining the historical background of the industry, and discusses its importance for the world economy. He examines the implications for the world industry of the successful development of the steel industry in Japan, and traces the evolution of a commodity cartel in the iron ore market, analysing the price levels of the commodity in the ‘free’ and ‘controlled’ markets. Following a discussion of the role of energy and coking coal supplies in the industry, the author examines the evolution of this industry in the less developed countries, with particular reference to the role of technology in the industry's development. He concludes that there have been important structural changes in the world industry, embraced by the concept of ‘partial demise’.     

关于焦化行业CO2排放核算方法的探讨

本文分析了适用于焦化行业通用CO₂排放核算方法,在此基础上结合我国焦化行业工艺和原料的特征,采用排放因子法和物料衡算法等两种方法对10家典型焦化企业CO₂排放进行核算。结果表明:物料衡算法能很好地反映不同类型焦化企业的排放特征;排放因子法对我国独立焦化企业存在碳排放量系统性高估的可能。为此,建议我国焦化企业可借鉴德国焦化企业的碳核算经验,采用碳平衡法对不同类型的焦化企业(单元)的碳排放量进行核算,并完善相关的统计和监测技术。     

COSTS AND EFFECTS OF A WATER PROGRAM FOR A SMALL STRIPPING COMPANY-SOUTHEASTERN OHIO1

The purpose of the study was to use economic analysis in determining the ability of a small strip mining company to incure the financial burden of carrying out various alternative mine drainage abatement programs. The quantity and quality of water with which the company has to deal were determined and treatment and diversion programs were costed out. The company's market area and the market structure were analyzed. It was found that pricing policies were determined by a dominant firm, so the target company had no control over its price per ton of coal. The costs and revenue of the firm were analyzed for the period 1960-1970 and, even without a water quality program, losses were incurred in six out of eleven years. Analysis of the average cost curve indicates that the per unit cost could have been reduced by increasing output thereby increasing efficiency. The conclusions of the study were that the small company could not unilaterally implement mine drainage programs because the added costs would seriously worsen its already precarious financial position. Even uniformly enforced legislation might reduce the small firms competitive position because of economies of scale associated with the large treatment facilities used by big mining companies.     

Assessing vulnerability of selected sectors under environmental tax reform: the issue of pricing power

Environmental tax reform could bear heavily on manufacturing sectors that are energy intensive and highly traded, in particular if their options for adapting technology are limited. However, to the extent that such sectors can pass on the cost of the environmental taxes through higher prices charged to their customers, they will not suffer a lasting drop in profitability or output. To assess pricing power in key sectors, a model of long-run price setting behaviour is specified and tested. Significant and plausible results emerged from this exercise. Of the six sectors analysed, the Basic metals sector revealed least pricing power and, hence, greatest vulnerability, and the Non-metallic minerals sector revealed most pricing power. The results indicated that the world price, proxied by the US price, was less of a constraint than the EU price, proxied by the German price. Thus, international competitiveness fears are reduced not just where there is good potential for adapting technology but also if application of environmental tax reform is EU-wide.     

排污权交易基准价定价机制探讨

构建科学合理的基准价定价机制是推动排污权交易的基础性工作,本文以政策、管理、技术三个方面作为立足点,探讨了基准价定价机制,构建了工作框架。研究认为现阶段基准价定价采取成本定价法是合适的,并对基准价定价技术难点进行了剖析,提出了建议。     

Pricing Public Parks

Admission prices are typically charged for entry to archaeological sites, museums and historic buildings, although rarely to public parks. This study explores the feasibility of introducing an entry charge to a public park in Naples, the Bosco di Capodimonte. It investigates different pricing options: a revenue-maximizing price, a discriminatory price to deal with equity, a 'sufficing' price to cover maintenance costs and a welfare economic social optimal price. The analysis documents the effect of different entry charges on visit numbers and revenue collected, and includes a cost-benefit analysis of the admission price policy. Total consumer surplus is also calculated for the different entry price scenarios.     

Legal and regulatory aspects of financing commodity exporters and the provision of bank hedging line credit in developing countries

Exporters of raw materials and commodities in developing countries depend on the availability of hard currency pre-export financing and the adoption of pricing policies which meet the requirements of the international marketplace to produce and market their products in an efficient manner. The author has identified a number of structural obstacles which impede access both to international financing and to price risk management tools which could be overcome through relatively simple modifications in export regulations, currency controls, insurance regulations and in laws concerning title to goods.     

Incentive pricing and cost recovery at the basin scale

Incentive pricing programs have potential to promote economically efficient water use patterns and provide a revenue source to compensate for environmental damages. However, incentive pricing may impose disproportionate costs and aggravate poverty where high prices are levied for basic human needs. This paper presents an analysis of a two-tiered water pricing system that sets a low price for subsistence needs, while charging a price equal to marginal cost, including environmental cost, for discretionary uses. This pricing arrangement can promote efficient and sustainable water use patterns, goals set by the European Water Framework Directive, while meeting subsistence needs of poor households. Using data from the Rio Grande Basin of North America, a dynamic nonlinear program, maximizes the basin's total net economic and environmental benefits subject to several hydrological and institutional constraints. Supply costs, environmental costs, and resource costs are integrated in a model of a river basin's hydrology, economics, and institutions. Three programs are compared: (1) Law of the River, in which water allocations and prices are determined by rules governing water transfers; (2) marginal cost pricing, in which households pay the full marginal cost of supplying treated water; (3) two-tiered pricing, in which households' subsistence water needs are priced cheaply, while discretionary uses are priced at efficient levels. Compared to the Law of the River and marginal cost pricing, two-tiered pricing performs well for efficiency and adequately for sustainability and equity. Findings provide a general framework for formulating water pricing programs that promote economically and environmentally efficient water use programs while also addressing other policy goals.     

CONSERVATIONAL WATER PRICING FOR INCREASED WATER SUPPLY BENEFITS1

ABSTRACT: A study was undertaken to see if benefits from water supply could be increased by utilizing price-usage information in reservoir design studies. Three pricing policies were examined. The first policy assumed no price-use relationship, and quantity demanded was based on existing community usage with a low water rate. The price of water was set to recover system costs. A price-use relationship was assumed in the second policy and the water rate was constant. The price of water was determined from the associated system which provided maximum expected net benefits. The third policy assumed the price-use relationship and the price charged for water during each billing period was a non-linear function of storage which increased as the amount of water in storage at the beginning of the period decreased. It was found that the use of the conservation pricing policies substantially reduced storage requirements while providing demonstrable net benefits to the community and a large average supply. The conservation pricing policies substantially lowered the average price paid for water. The effect of uncertainty in consumer response to changes in price was studied by using a probabilistic price-use relationship. This uncertainty did not significantly reduce the effectiveness of the conservation policy. It was concluded that demand management by the use of a proper pricing policy could significantly increase net water supply benefits to a community.     

Desulfurization of coal by bacterial means

An attempt was made to desulfurize coals by bacterial means. A strain of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans has been found effective in removing pyritic sulfur and sulfate sulfur from coal. The removal of organic sulfur depends on the sulfur containing organic compounds present in coal. Assuming presence of thiophene in coal, a mixed bacterial culture was isolated from soil using dibenzothiophene as the sole source of carbon. These strains proved effective in removing organic sulfur from coal in addition to some pyritic and sulfate sulfur.Coal treated with bacteria shows an improvement in quality. Apart from the reduction of the sulfur contents, the ash contents of the bacteria treated coals are substantially reduced. The coking property remains unaffected by the bacterial treatment.     

A MONTHLY TIME SERIES MODEL OF MUNICIPAL WATER DEMAND1

A multivariate time series model is formulated to study monthly variations in municipal water demand. The left hand side variable in the multivariate regression model is municipal water demand (gallons per connection per day) and the right hand side contains (explanatory) variables which include price (constant dollars), average temperature, total precipitation, and percentage of daylight hours. The application of the regression model to Salt Lake City Water Department data produced a high multiple correlation coefficient and F-statistic. The regression coefficients for the right hand side variables all have the appropriate sign. In an ex post forecast, the model accurately predicts monthly variations in municipal water demand. The proposed monthly multivariate model is not only found useful for forecasting water demand, but also useful for predicting and studying the impact of nonstructural management decisions such as the effect of price changes, peak load pricing methods, and other water conservation programs.     

中国排污权有偿使用定价及政策影响研究

排放配额的价格是排污权有偿使用政策的关键要素之一。本研究从分析排污权有偿使用政策的内涵出发,厘清有偿使用政策与已有排污收费政策的区别,排污收费是企业为污染物排放造成对环境损害而支付的补偿,而有偿使用费是企业为污染物排放占用环境容量资源支付的稀缺租金。本研究同时考虑了现行排污收费政策和总量控制政策的影响,基于最优化控制理论建立了COD和NH_3-N两种水污染物为独立变量的价格模型,并对有偿使用政策执行后可能带来的影响进行了模拟预测。     

The pricing of water services in developing countries

This paper focuses on improving efficiency in the water and sewerage sectors through long-run marginal cost pricing, adjusted for financial needs, externalities, second best considerations, lifeline tariffs and cross subsidization within an integrated water resource planning (IWRP) framework. Supply efficiency suggests that for a given price structure, an optimal long-run investment plan and a corresponding level of supply quality should be determined which maximizes net social benefits. Supply efficiency also requires efficient operation of the water system, including optimization of losses.     

我国煤炭资源现状与综合利用途径

我国煤资源丰富,但人均占有量少,勘探程度低,可供建新井的储量不足;煤种齐全,但分布不均。在煤资源利用中应尽快改变煤资源严重浪费的状况。我国煤资源综合利用潜力大,除提高煤炭回采率、入选比、保证炼焦用煤外,还应开采煤的共生、伴生矿产,大力发展煤炭液化、气化、煤化工等深加工及综合利用技术。     

Thermodynamic and Economic Aspects of the Hard Coal Based Oxyfuel Cycle

The present study shows a new approach in modelling the hard coal fired Oxyfuel Cycle on the whole. The static process model comprises an Oxyfuel combustion principle applied to an existing state-of-the-art hard coal power plant located in Rostock, Germany. It includes the air separation unit and the flue gas liquefaction unit, which are modelled in detail. As one of the main advances to previous work, the closed simulation of all components in one model delivers a coherent solution with a significantly reduced number of assumptions. The model needs no interfaces between different stand alone simulation tools or manual iteration and transfer of internal variables. Results from a thermodynamic and economic feasibility study on this process are shown and areas relevant for future research are identified.

The present study shows the feasibility and prospective key figures of the technology under realistic, comparable and reproducible assumptions and boundary conditions. The basic engineering of the process with a detailed study of the necessary gas separation and flue gas handling technologies is undertaken in the effort to a first stage optimisation of the process.

The flowsheet tool Aspen Plus (TM) was used to simulate the overall process. This particular tool was chosen because it offers an advanced data library on chemical substances and allows the calculation of phase equilibria and real gas behaviour during air separation and flue gas liquefaction. Emissions, coal consumption and investment costs of the Oxyfuel power plant are compared to those of the original state-of-the-art hard coal power plant which is used as the reference case.     

Pig iron production structure in Japan

Japan is the world's largest steel producing country, and around half of its total input requirements for coking coal and iron ore are sourced from Australia. Moreover, around half of Australia's total coking coal and iron ore exports go to Japan each year. Therefore, changes in the demand for these two inputs are likely to have a significant impact on Australia. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the production structure of the blast furnaces in Japan and factors affecting the demand for iron making raw materials. The empirical study is based on the generalized Leontief cost function. Because of its functional flexibility, the model allows testing various hypotheses regarding pig iron production from blast furnaces. Based on the data from 1974 to 1991, the modelling results show that the Japanese ironmaking technology, when considered as an aggregate production process using fuel and iron ore as major inputs, could be characterized by fixed factor proportions, constant returns to scale and technical changes that can be explained by systematic changes in input mix. Moreover, while there is little variation in the iron ore usage rate, variations in fuel usage rate can be explained largely by changes in the make-up of iron ore charge and blast furnace production capacity over the sample period.     

RURAL RESIDENTIAL WATER DEMAND: AN ECONOMETRIC AND SIMULATION ANALYSIS1

ABSTRACT: This study proposes that demand management through pricing policies can be used in conjunction with supply management to solve water supply problems. Economic principles are shown to apply to rural residential water use. A demand function for water was developed based on cross-sectional water use data collected in Kentucky. Price was found to be a significant determinant of the quantity of water demanded. A constant price elasticity of -0.92 was found. The demand function was used in a simulation analysis to determine reservoir capacity needed to supply water needs of a rural community. The simulation revealed that price can significantly affect required reservoir storage.