The Full Costs of Electricity Provision
Electricity provision touches upon every facet of life in OECD and non-OECD countries
alike, and choosing how this electricity is generated – whether from fossil fuels,
nuclear energy or renewables – affects not only economic outcomes but individual and
social well-being in the broader sense. Research on the overall costs of electricity
is an ongoing effort, as only certain costs of electricity provision are perceived
directly by producers and consumers. Other costs, such as the health impacts of air
pollution, damage from climate change or the effects on the electricity system of
small-scale variable production are not reflected in market prices and thus diminish
well-being in unaccounted for ways.
Accounting for these social costs in order to establish the full costs of electricity
provision is difficult, yet such costs are too important to be disregarded in the
context of the energy transitions currently under way in OECD and NEA countries. This
report draws on evidence from a large number of studies concerning the social costs
of electricity and identifies proven instruments for internalising them so as to improve
overall welfare.
The results outlined in the report should lead to new and more comprehensive research
on the full costs of electricity, which in turn would allow policy makers and the
public to make better informed decisions along the path towards fully sustainable
electricity systems.
Published on June 21, 2018