Tariffs for European Gas Transmission Networks. Report on workshop proceedings

The mainline of the workshop was the transmission tariffs on gas network from a European perspective. Transmission is a key issue for the European gas system for two reasons. First, transmission tariff should incentivize the efficient use of infrastructure and so facilitate the development of competition. Second, transmission tariff should also give enough return to network investors so that they upgrade the network efficently compared to their current and future uses not only for national infrastructures but also for cross-border pipelines. Three issues were especially treated in the different sessions during the workshop namely: 1° competition and efficient use of the network, 2° investment in national infrastructures, and 3° investment in cross-border infrastructures. Key conclusions and open questions from the debate among regulators, TSOs, stakeholders and academic delegates are reported here.

The Gas Transportation Network as a ‘Lego’ Game: How to Play with It?

Gas transportation networks exhibit a quite substantial variety of technical and economical properties ranges roughly from an entrenched natural monopoly to near to an open competition platform. This empirical fact is widely known and accepted. However the corresponding frame of network analysis is lacking or quite fuzzy. As an infrastructure, can a gas network evolve or not from a natural monopoly (an essential facility) to an open infrastructure (a highway facility)? How can it be done with the same transportation infrastructure components within the same physical gas laws? Our paper provides a unified analytical frame for all types of gas transportation networks. It shows that gas transport networks are made of several components which can be combined in different ways. This very lego property of gas networks permits different designs with different economic properties while a certain infrastructural base and set of gas laws is common to all transportation networks. Therefore the notion of gas transportation network as a general and abstract concept does not have robust economic properties. The variety and modularity of gas networks come from the diversity of components, the variety of components combinations and the historical inclusion of components in the network. First, a gas network can combine different types of network components (primary or secondary ones). Second, the same components can be combined in different ways (notably regarding actual connections and flow paths). Third, as a capital-intensive infrastructure combining various specific assets, gas transportation networks show strong path dependency properties as they evolve slowly over time by moving from an already existing base. The heterogeneity of gas networks as sets of components comes firstly from the heterogeneity of the network components themselves, secondly from the different possibilities to combine these components and thirdly from the ‘path dependence’ character of gas network constructions. These three characteristics of gas networks explain the diversity of economic proprieties of the existent gas networks going from natural monopoly to competitive markets.

Simple Guide to Fluid and Electrolyte Balance in Relation to Surgery

A CAJM article on surgery and anaesthetics procedures as practiced in a Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) hospital in the 1950's.The rapid advances in surgery and anaesthetics are making more extensive surgical procedures possible and allowing more “poor risk” patients to be operated on with a reasonable chance of survival. An important advance has been the understanding of the changes in the fluid and electrolyte balance which occur after surgery and in surgical conditions. This is of great value in patients who have to be fed by the intravenous route for some days after extensive intra-abdominal procedures

Interaction between gas and electricity market-based trading in the short run

Gas-fired power plants are increasingly used in the production of electricity, which in turn makes them a relevant part of the gas demand. In this paper, we investigate whether the current designs of gas and power markets are robust to the relatively new link between industries. Specifically, we study the cross-industry efficiency losses associated with designs aimed at increasing liquidity by limiting the amount of network services allocated through markets. In the short run, reducing the set of transmission services priced in one market (say gas) affects the use of transmission in the other market (say power). This may result in inefficiencies that should be accounted for when deciding on the network services to be allocated through market arrangements in each industry. We also identify long-term effects of such design strategies: the allocation of gas pipeline storage and transmission services without preference representation may weaken localization signals for power plants investment. In addition, lack of harmonization of market designs may raise barriers to network investment

Lymphoma: streamlining follow ups

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Community-based tourism: state of the art and Brazilian experiences

[Resumo] O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar uma breve contextualização sobre o estado da arte do turismo de base comunitária (TBC) no Brasil. O TBC é uma prática turística que busca conciliar o desenvolvimento local e a conservação da natureza. Neste trabalho, realizamos, em um primeiro momento, uma discussão sobre as bases, conceitos e princípios do TBC, bem como evidenciamos alguns de seus desafios, ameaças e fragilidades. Em seguida, apresentamos algumas iniciativas de TBC no contexto brasileiro: o Edital nº 01/2008 do Ministério do Turismo do Brasil, a Rede Brasileira de Turismo Comunitário “TURISOL” e a caso da “Prainha do Canto Verde - Turismo comunitário e sustentável”.[Abstract] This paper is aimed at presenting a brief overview on the state of the art of community-based tourism (CBT) in Brazil. CBT is a tourism practice that seeks to reconcile local development and nature conservation. At first, we carried out a discussion on the foundations, concepts and principles of CBT, as well as bringing light to some of its challenges, threats and weaknesses. Then, we present some initiatives in the Brazilian context of CBT: Call for Entries No. 01/2008 of the Ministry of Tourism of Brazil, the Brazilian Network of Community Tourism “TURISOL” and the case of the “Prainha do Canto Verde - Sustainable and Community Tourism”

LDP Academic Roundtable: Redesigning Gas and Electricity Markets to Work Together

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Gas Market Distorting Effects of Imbalanced Gas Balancing Rules: Inefficient Regulation of Pipeline Flexibility

This paper analyzes the value and cost of line-pack flexibility in liberalized gas markets through examination of the techno-economic characteristics of gas transport pipelines and the trade-offs between different ways to use the infrastructure: transport and flexibility. Line-pack flexibility is becoming increasingly important as a tool to balance gas supply and demand over different periods. In the European liberalized market context, a monopolist unbundled network operator offers regulated transport services and flexibility (balancing) services according to the network code and balancing rules. Therefore, gas policy makers should understand the role and consequences of line-pack regulation. The analysis shows that the line-pack flexibility service has an important economic value for the shippers and the TSO. Furthermore, the analysis identifies distorting effects in the gas market due to inadequate regulation of line-pack flexibility: by disregarding the sunk costs of flexibility in the balancing rules, the overall efficiency of the gas system is decreased. Finally, the analysis demonstrates that the actual costs of line-pack flexibility are related to the peak cumulative imbalance throughout the balancing period. Any price for pipeline flexibility should, therefore, be based on the related trade-off between the right to use the line-pack flexibility and the provision of transport services

Turismo de base comunitária : dos conceitos às práticas e das práticas aos conceitos

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentável, 2013.O turismo de base comunitária (TBC) se consolidou no Brasil como uma proposta de desenvolvimento para o turismo na escala local e centrado nos recursos endógenos (humanos, naturais, de infraestrutura) das comunidades interessadas. A literatura ressalta o potencial da atividade em promover a conservação ambiental, a valorização da identidade cultural e a geração de benefícios diretos para as comunidades receptoras. O presente trabalho parte do reconhecimento da visibilidade alcançada pelo TBC na atualidade e da necessidade de se promover uma discussão mais criteriosa sobre essa temática, aproximando o arcabouço teórico (teoria) das iniciativas em curso (práticas). A pergunta norteadora, em face da carga ideológica contida na literatura sobre o TBC, foi: “as características reputadas ao TBC na teoria estão refletidas nas iniciativas em curso?” O objetivo é o de verificar, por meio de evidências empíricas, a aderência entre a discussão teórico-conceitual do TBC e as suas práticas. Para tanto, desenvolveu-se uma revisão do arcabouço teórico do turismo comunitário, identificando os componentes recorrentes no entendimento do TBC, sob a ótica de seus estudiosos ou atores a ele relacionados: academia, governo, Ongs etc. A análise destes componentes possibilitou o delineamento de seis elementos-chaves (dominialidade, organização comunitária, democratização de oportunidades e repartição de benefícios, integração econômica, interculturalidade e qualidade ambiental) que, por sua vez, receberam critérios e subcritérios correspondentes. A relação de elementos-chaves, critérios e subcritérios originou um framework de análise para iniciativas de TBC. Este instrumento foi aplicado, em janeiro de 2013, em três iniciativas integrantes da Rede Cearense de Turismo Comunitário – Rede Tucum: Prainha do Canto Verde, Assentamento Coqueirinho e Ponta Grossa. A partir dos resultados de campo, concluiu-se que, dos seis elementos-chaves inicialmente testados, apenas dois devam ser considerados como aspectos constituintes do turismo comunitário: Dominialidade e Organização Comunitária. ______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTCommunity based tourism (CBT) has grown in Brazil as means to local tourism development focused and based upon endogenous resources (human, natural and infrastructural) of interested/engaged communities. Literature emphasizes its potential to promote environmental conservation, cultural heritage values and benefit sharing amongst engaged communities. This study departure from the recognition of today’s CBT visibility together with the demand to promote a more rigorous discussion around the theme, bringing closer theory and practice. The central question, in the face of the ideological burden found in CBT’s literature was: “are the characteristics of CBT in theory reflected in practices?”. The objective was to verify, through empirical evidences, the adherence between theoretical and conceptual debates and the reality of CBT initiatives. Therefore, and upon literature review of the theoretical framework of CBT, recurrent components within it were identified, under the perspective of scholars and other social actors: academia, governments, NGOs etc. The analyses of these components lead to the development of six key-elements (ownership, community organization, opportunities and benefit sharing and democratization, economic integration, interculturality, environmental quality) which were assigned related criteria and sub criteria. The relation between key- elements with their criteria and sub criteria originated the analytical framework of this study for CBT initiatives. The instrument was applied, in January 2013, on three initiatives part of the Ceará Community Based Tourism Net (Rede Cearense de Turismo Comunitário) – Rede Tucum: Prainha do Canto Verde, Assentamento Coqueirinho e Ponta Grossa. Field results showed that from the six key-elements only two shall be considered as fundamental aspects of CBT: ownership and community organization