Financial Indicators of Sustainable and Financialised Municipal Water Infrastructure

Year 2023, Volume: 8 Issue: 2, 229 - 250, 30.12.2023

Brad Bell

https://doi.org/10.30927/ijpf.1275686

Abstract

Organisations that operate utility infrastructure, such as water and electricity, within the municipal context have choices to make in terms of their preferred business model. Such choices include their business goal, implementing agent, and market structure. This study focuses on two of the possible business goals, namely to deliver a ‘sustainable service’ or a ‘financialised service’, defining these terms and exploring the general characteristics of the types of organisations involved in each, such as ownership profiles and exposure to financial market instruments. The study then goes into detail for two relevant case studies, which are Joburg Water, South Africa as a sustainable service, and Thames Water Utilities, England, as a financialised service. It takes a closer look at ten specific financial indicators calculated from the 2021/22 financial statements of Joburg Water and Thames Water Utilities. The study concludes with a tentative proposal for the financial indicators of sustainable and financialised services.

Keywords

Public finance, municipal infrastructure, sustainability, financialisation, municipal service delivery

Sürdürülebilir ve Finansallaştırılmış Belediye Su Altyapısının Mali Göstergeleri

Abstract

Su ve elektrik gibi kamu hizmeti altyapısını belediye bağlamında işleten kuruluşların tercih ettikleri iş modeli açısından yapmaları gereken seçenekler vardır. Bu tür seçenekler arasında iş hedefi, uygulayıcı aracı ve pazar yapısı yer alır. Bu çalışma, olası iş hedeflerinden ikisine, yani 'sürdürülebilir bir hizmet' veya 'finansallaştırılmış bir hizmet' sunmaya, bu terimleri tanımlamaya ve sahiplik profilleri ve maruz kalma gibi her birine dahil olan kuruluş türlerinin genel özelliklerini keşfetmeye odaklanmaktadır finansal piyasa araçları. Çalışma daha sonra, sürdürülebilir bir hizmet olarak Güney Afrika'daki Joburg Water ve finansallaştırılmış bir hizmet olarak İngiltere'deki Thames Water Utilities olmak üzere ilgili iki vaka incelemesi için ayrıntılara giriyor. Joburg Water ve Thames Water Utilities'in 2021/22 mali tablolarından hesaplanan on özel mali göstergeye daha yakından bakıyor. Çalışma, sürdürülebilir ve finansallaştırılmış hizmetlerin finansal göstergeleri için geçici bir öneri ile sona ermektedir.

Keywords

Kamu maliyesi, belediye altyapısı, sürdürülebilirlik, finansallaşma, belediye hizmet sunumu

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