Performance Benchmarking for Pacific Power Utilities report, March 2013: Baseline year of Study - 2011 Fiscal Year

Annual benchmarking is a mechanism for better information collection and decision making within power utilities, and assisting the improvement of operational efficiency, service delivery and overall performance.

During 2012, 22 Pacific Island power utilities participated in the second of a programme of annual performance benchmarking studies. This year’s benchmarking employed the same indicators established by the 2011 study – itself the first benchmarking assessment to be carried out in more than a decade.

Comparisons of the most recent results (for 2011 utility operations) with those of the previous study (for 2010 utility operations) were made, including those for the set of expanded indicators agreed as the baseline. The analysis was further extended to include a self-assessment of data reliability and more information on utility cost structure. Where possible, comparisons with international benchmarking studies of small and island utilities were updated.

The scope of the work in 2012 specifically addressed previous recommendations directed at improving the quality of information and the usefulness of benchmarking to participants. These recommendations were recognised in the design of the questionnaire and indicator set, the conduct of a benchmarking workshop for attendants of the Pacific Power Association (PPA) Conference Engineers Workshop in Vanuatu in July 2012, an updated benchmarking manual, and provision of funding for utility visits to assist in data validation and the development of performance improvement plans.

Annual benchmarking efforts continue to be coordinated by the PPA with financial assistance from development partners through the Sydney-based Pacific Infrastructure Advisory Center (PIAC) under an agreement between the PPA, PIAC and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), which coordinates Pacific regional energy matters. All PPA members were invited to participate, with one additional confirmed participant increasing the benchmark group to 22 utilities.

The report covers for the reference year of 2011.

Report was sourced from the PPA website - http://www.ppa.org.fj/publication-report/ 

 Keywords - Utilities benchmarking report, PPA benchmarking report, 2011 PPA benchmarking report