Sargsyan, GevorgBalabanyan, AniHankinson, Denzel2012-08-132012-08-132006-04https://hdl.handle.net/10986/10741Armenia's power sector has suffered many setbacks: in the late 1980s an earthquake that took its major nuclear plant off-line, and in the early 1990s the collapse of the Soviet Union, economic blockade, and repeated sabotage of a new gas pipeline-all of which severely disrupted fuel supply. The government set out to reform and privatize the sector, persevering through setbacks and learning from initial failure. Its persistence paid off: today the system runs efficiently and delivers power 24 hours a day. The following lessons can be learned from Armenia's example: Political will is paramount; champions matter; initial failure may be better than not trying at all; frequent, substantive communications with bidders helps; a comprehensive, cross-sectoral approach to reform is beneficial; reform should start before privatization; donors should provide the right mix of support; and service quality matters most.CC BY 3.0 IGOAPARTMENT BLOCKSAPPROACHBIDDING PROCESSCOMMERCIAL CUSTOMERSCROSS-SUBSIDIESDISTRIBUTION COMPANIESDISTRIBUTION SYSTEMDRINKING WATERDUE DILIGENCEELECTRICITYELECTRICITY CRISISELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTIONELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANYELECTRICITY GENERATIONELECTRICITY PRICESELECTRICITY SUPPLYENERGY SYSTEMENERGY USEEXPANSIONFISCAL DEFICITFUELFUEL SUPPLYGASGAS PIPELINEHEATINGHYDROPOWERHYDROPOWER GENERATIONINDEPENDENT REGULATORLITIGATIONNONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONSNUCLEAR PLANTNUCLEAR POWERNUCLEAR POWER PLANTOILPIPELINEPOWERPOWER GENERATIONPOWER GENERATORSPOWER PLANTSPOWER SECTORPOWER SECTOR REFORMPOWER SYSTEMPRICE INCREASESPRIVATE INFRASTRUCTUREPRIVATE INVESTORSPRIVATIZATIONPUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPSPUMPINGREGULATORY COMMISSIONREGULATORY FRAMEWORKRESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERSSERVICE QUALITYSERVICE QUALITY STANDARDSSTATE UTILITYSUPPLIERSTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETENDER DOCUMENTSTHERMAL PLANTSTHERMAL POWERTHERMAL POWER PLANTTRANSMISSION SYSTEMUTILITIESUTILITY BILLSWATER SECTORWATER UTILITIESWorld Bank10.1596/10741