Regulation and efficiency of public illumination. The substitution of gas by electricity in Buenos Aires (1890-1910)

• Autor(a) principal: Bussola, Diego
• Data de Publicação: 2015
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Labor & Engenho (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.sbu.unicamp.br/ojs/index.php/labore/article/view/2102
• topic: Gas; electricity; competition; regulation.; Gás; Eletricidade; Concorrência; Fiscalização

The substitution of gas by electricity for public and private lighting seems an almost automatic process. However, some cases show that this process may be unique. Boston still has neighborhoods with gas street lighting and in Lisbon the last street gas lamp was shut down in 1965. Analyzing this competition, due to the arrival of an alternative energy, brings light to other issues. This article analyzes the condlict between gas utilities and local authorities in the city of Buenos Aires and emphasizes the success of electricity for public illumination, in order to highlight certain problems raised by different actors. The differences in interests between local authorities, utilities (gas and electricity) and consumers gave birth to some topics that are now fully incorporated into discussions of network infrastructure: natural monopoly, economies of scale, public services regulation, etc. We will show that at the end of the XIXth century begin the regulation by local authorities, the complaints about public service rates and the improvement of net utilities’ efdiciency.