The Change in Ownership Structure of Local Public Utilities Providers: the Case of Water and Wastewater Management in Slovenia

Abstract

The paper analyses the effect of Public Private Partnership Act on the ownership structure of local public utilities’ providers in Slovenia. The Act affected the legal status of public enterprises, where solely public ownership was prescribed, and therefore demanded the reorganization of existing public enterprises. The paper aims to evaluate the reorganization of the existing public enterprises, the motives of reorganization and the advantages and disadvantages of the reorganization under the new legislation. The paper presents results based on the primary data collection through a detailed on-line questionnaire sent to the Slovenian local public utilities’ providers in the area of water and wastewater management, in the period from 2018 till 2020. The collected data is used in the comparative analysis which gives evidence about the final outcomes of the reorganization process. It is evident that policy proposal contributed to the increased public ownership in local public utilities provision.