Component # 4 : energy pricing -- final report, Czechoslovakia

(RMA). The project"s main activities were institution building through workshops and energy modelling activities, and providing assistance to the government of Czechoslovakia on energy policy and program issues. RMA"s outputs included 5 documents, a major workshop which brought policy makers together to discuss energy pricing issues and formulate fuel pricing policies, and preparation and delivery of 3 pricing models to counterpart organizations in the Czech and Slovak Federal Republics (CSFR). The project took place at a critical juncture in the transformation of the CSFR economy in general and of the energy sector in particular. The USAID program provided one of several bilateral and international efforts to help the CSFR make the transition to a market economy. At the beginning of the project in early 1991, significant changes in energy pricing policy were underway, and specific tariff changes had already been implemented. Within this environment of rapid change, debates and discussions on the specific form of the institutional changes in the energy sector formed a key element of the project"s workshops and working forums. The project helped expose CSFR policy makers to U.S. experiences in energy pricing, and to develop appropriate tools and institutions which build upon that experience. This report summarizes that process, the specific products and documentation arising from it, and recommendations for future directions. (Author abstract)