The household sector is a key stakeholder in energy markets, mainly its regulation and policies. Since 1971, electricity and gas demand from Latin American and Caribbean households has more than tripled, outpacing high energy-intensive sectors such as transportation and manufacturing, and reshaping aggregate energy demand. Balancing affordability, quality, and sustainability … [Read more...] about How Do Households Consume Energy in Latin America and the Caribbean?
Ariel Yepez
Ariel Yépez is Chief of the Energy Division at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). In this position, Ariel is responsible for identifying, proposing and implementing energy projects that promote a sustainable development agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to joining the IDB, Ariel worked at the World Bank as a Senior Energy Economist. Ariel has also served as General Director of Revenue Policy for the Ministry of Finance in Mexico and Deputy Director of Economic Planning for Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX). Ariel also served on the IDB Board of Directors. He received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago and has published several articles and books on energy and public finance. Recently, Ariel published a regional report about the challenges of the energy sector in Latin America and the Caribbean and another report about the vulnerability of Latin American and Caribbean countries to fluctuations in oil prices.
Auctions: From the 2020 Nobel Prize for Economics to the Success of Renewables’ Investment
This year’s Nobel Prize winners in economics were two economists from Stanford University. Robert Wilson and Paul Milgrom improved upon the auction theory and developed new modalities of auctions, thereby opening novel options to improve market efficiency and appropriate resource allocation. Robert Wilson was the first to create a framework for analyzing auctions[1] in order … [Read more...] about Auctions: From the 2020 Nobel Prize for Economics to the Success of Renewables’ Investment
The quarantine and its dwellers: ¿Do we change our electricity consumption behavior?
Since confinement measures began to be applied, we have been forced to remain inside our homes for a long period of time. These measures of social distancing have required the reduction of economic activities, the closing of schools, and the limitation of physical displacement. In the region, a huge number of people share residences with their families or other co-inhabitants … [Read more...] about The quarantine and its dwellers: ¿Do we change our electricity consumption behavior?
Monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on electricity: lower demand with different profiles
The COVID-19 is having an impact on several sectors of the economy, and the power sector is not spared. The electricity sector is an integral part of the economy. The importance of its monitoring lies in the fact that it can help us: (1) prepare for futures challenges in the electricity sector associated with the revenue gap in the following months; (2) track the economic … [Read more...] about Monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on electricity: lower demand with different profiles
Leveraging the Benefit of Low Oil Prices: A Call for Hedging Actions
For several weeks now the world has been suffering the impacts of COVID-19. One of the immediate impacts of the crisis has been a significant drop in economic activity, resulting in a sudden fall in demand and inevitably world oil prices. Such low oil prices had not been witnessed since the 2008 global financial crisis. For how long these prices will remain low is a big … [Read more...] about Leveraging the Benefit of Low Oil Prices: A Call for Hedging Actions