Page 83 - Anales RADE vol I n 1
P. 83
TABLE 4
RECENT ISSUES FACED BY THE ELECTRICAL UTILITIES SECTOR
• Recent developments at all the companies within the sector have been characterized by
industry liberalization starting with the ratification of the Spanish electrical utilities law7
following the issuance of European directive 96/92 CE in 1997. The policies enacted in Spain
focused on the gradual introduction of competition in the industry, the future configuration of
the industry on the Iberian peninsula and the single European market.
• As a result of this Directive, companies have undergone a internal transformation governed
by three factors: a) Shift from a focus on technology and production to a focus on the customer,
which was become the key axis for operations going forward; b) reorganization of companies
consisting not only of the segregation of activities (generation, distribution and marketing) into
separate legal entities but also adapting the new structure to the marketplace; and c) efficiency,
which becomes of key importance for operating in a competitive environment where the
company is no longer remunerated as a function of “Reasonable Return” but now on the basis
of “Reference Rates”.
• Environmental pressures on various sectors of the economy have increased particularly in the
electrical utilities sector, with the objective of meeting the goals set forth in the Kyoto protocol
and in the most recent summit in Johannesburg. All these changes have compelled companies
to improve their management of environmental factors within generation, transmission and
distribution with the objective of controlling emissions, managing waste products and reducing
the environmental impact of their plants.
• Interested third-parties such as regulators, environmental agencies, shareholders, investors
and employees increasingly demand more information thereby leading to a shift within the
company toward satisfying the stake-holder and toward an improvement in communication
and public relations management.
• In addition, companies have had to reassess previous efforts to expand internationally and to
diversify. In the past, these initiatives often involved unrelated businesses but are now
increasingly focused on developing the firm’s “core business” in order to enhance the return on
its existing investments.
Key intangibles were identified for each individual company taking into
account its strategic objectives and incorporating into the interviews specific
questions designed to locate shortcomings with respect to achieving strategic
objectives in terms of intellectual capital. To this end, the questionnaire dealt
sequentially with subjects related to human resources, corporate culture,
knowledge management, customers, processes, and public relations. These
intangibles were confirmed by senior executives as established in the
methodology.
In order to select the key intangibles at the sectoral level, company-specific
key intangibles were associated with a set of factors which were a priority for the
companies depending on their level of progress and relationship with strategic
objectives. The results are set forth in Table 5 which lists the factors as well as the
percentage of the companies for whom they were a priority.
7 Law 54 of 1997.
83| A case study on spanish electrical utilities
RECENT ISSUES FACED BY THE ELECTRICAL UTILITIES SECTOR
• Recent developments at all the companies within the sector have been characterized by
industry liberalization starting with the ratification of the Spanish electrical utilities law7
following the issuance of European directive 96/92 CE in 1997. The policies enacted in Spain
focused on the gradual introduction of competition in the industry, the future configuration of
the industry on the Iberian peninsula and the single European market.
• As a result of this Directive, companies have undergone a internal transformation governed
by three factors: a) Shift from a focus on technology and production to a focus on the customer,
which was become the key axis for operations going forward; b) reorganization of companies
consisting not only of the segregation of activities (generation, distribution and marketing) into
separate legal entities but also adapting the new structure to the marketplace; and c) efficiency,
which becomes of key importance for operating in a competitive environment where the
company is no longer remunerated as a function of “Reasonable Return” but now on the basis
of “Reference Rates”.
• Environmental pressures on various sectors of the economy have increased particularly in the
electrical utilities sector, with the objective of meeting the goals set forth in the Kyoto protocol
and in the most recent summit in Johannesburg. All these changes have compelled companies
to improve their management of environmental factors within generation, transmission and
distribution with the objective of controlling emissions, managing waste products and reducing
the environmental impact of their plants.
• Interested third-parties such as regulators, environmental agencies, shareholders, investors
and employees increasingly demand more information thereby leading to a shift within the
company toward satisfying the stake-holder and toward an improvement in communication
and public relations management.
• In addition, companies have had to reassess previous efforts to expand internationally and to
diversify. In the past, these initiatives often involved unrelated businesses but are now
increasingly focused on developing the firm’s “core business” in order to enhance the return on
its existing investments.
Key intangibles were identified for each individual company taking into
account its strategic objectives and incorporating into the interviews specific
questions designed to locate shortcomings with respect to achieving strategic
objectives in terms of intellectual capital. To this end, the questionnaire dealt
sequentially with subjects related to human resources, corporate culture,
knowledge management, customers, processes, and public relations. These
intangibles were confirmed by senior executives as established in the
methodology.
In order to select the key intangibles at the sectoral level, company-specific
key intangibles were associated with a set of factors which were a priority for the
companies depending on their level of progress and relationship with strategic
objectives. The results are set forth in Table 5 which lists the factors as well as the
percentage of the companies for whom they were a priority.
7 Law 54 of 1997.
83| A case study on spanish electrical utilities
