Monitoring Infrastructure Capacity

Abstract:     
Infrastructure providers face the challenge of serving development as the cost of new capacity and connections rises. While private sector utilities are required by law to serve development in a timely fashion, the cost to the utility of new wires or pipes, or the prices of additional generators or switches, is not a high-profile public concern. Public sector utilities (though seldom called utilities), on the other hand, often have more flexibility in choosing whether to provide service, as local government can often refuse to permit that development in the first place, at least for a time. Government may also have the power to impose special connection charges such as impact fees to defray their costs. This paper examines the issues around monitoring of the capacity of public sector infrastructure to absorb land development. The presence of public infrastructure is necessary to enable land to be developed at greater than rural densities. Scarce infrastructure will raise the cost of serviced land. This paper will also provide guidance on how and what to monitor. The first direction concerns recognizing complexity of the problem. A community should not underestimate the challenge of establishing an infrastructure monitoring program for land development. Implementing a sound monitoring system is a difficult (though not impossible) task.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 19

Keywords: infrastructure capacity, land development, privatization

JEL Classification: R40, R41

Accepted Paper Series