Infrastructures. Time to invest
There are currently insufficient guarantees of investment in vital infrastructure such as dykes and electricity. A strategic reorientation of policy is required to safeguard the public interests that are vital for these infrastructures, such as innovation, sustainability and security of supply. In its report Infrastructures: Time to invest (Report no. 81, 2008), the WRR outlines the pillars of such a reorientation.
Threat to public values
The ownership and management of the infrastructures are increasingly shared by different public and private parties. In many cases, the original objectives of this operation (increasing efficiency, greater customer-friendliness and wider choice for consumers) have been accomplished. However, there is a threat to the public interest in all of the infrastructures in the longer term.
New strategy
According to the WRR, a strategy that provides long-term safeguards would rest on three pillars: new roles and responsibilities for all of the relevant public and private actors; more connections and cooperation between the government, managers, regulators and consumers; and a better allocation of power among the parties. The international, and particularly the European, dimension must also be considered in formulating the strategy.