Scale and cost efficiency in the Swiss electricity distribution industry: evidence from a frontier cost approach

The deregulation of the electricity industry is currently on the political agenda in many countries. In most countries, the deregulation of the sector is combined with a (re-) regulation of the electricity networks in most of the countries. In this paper, we analyze the costs structure of 59 Swiss electricity distribution network operators with respect to cost and scale efficiency of the industry. A stochastic frontier model is applied to estimate the average costs of efficient network operators as a benchmark for the industry. Moreover, the heterogeneity of service areas is taken into account. The Swiss authorities might use our results to regulate the prices for the access to the distribution networks.