Course 2019-2020 a.y.

30496 - MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES

Department of Social and Political Sciences

Course taught in English
Go to class group/s: 31
CLEAM (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - CLEF (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - CLEACC (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - BESS-CLES (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - WBB (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - BIEF (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - BIEM (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - BIG (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08) - BEMACS (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/08)
Course Director:
ANDREA GILARDONI

Classes: 31 (II sem.)
Instructors:
Class 31: ANDREA GILARDONI


Mission & Content Summary

MISSION

Public utilities - water, waste, power, gas providers – play an important role in fulfilling basic public needs, at both local and national level, and in strengthening the competitiveness of countries and cities. However, managing public utilities is rather complex: water and energy crises, pollution, development of renewable energy sources, opposition for new infrastructure, stakeholder engagement are some of the major issues that intersect with more or less successful liberalization and privatization policies. In addition, in recent years the sector has been involved in two main processes of change: the Energy Transition and the Circular Economy. These processes are the “fil rouge” of the whole course. Within this framework, the classes delve deeper into the management of public utilities in terms of managerial and financial dimensions, as well as the industrial perspectives. Attention is dedicated to infrastructure, financing issues, technological change and Internet of Things in the public utilities. The course has both a national and international perspectives. Top managers, regulators and public administrators are invited to deliver a lecture on their experience. Plants’ visits are organised.

CONTENT SUMMARY

  • Fundamental concepts of Utilities Management.
  • Electricity markets, the prosumer model and the new businesses in the context of the Energy Transition.
  • Energy Efficiency in manufacturing and buildings: an European perspective.
  • Corporate strategies in a declining natural gas market.
  • Competing in highly regulated industries: the European Water and Waste Sectors in the framework of the Circular Economy.
  • Infrastructure and stakeholder engagement.
  • The impact of IoT on utilities and infrastructure.
  • Financing the utility sector and infrastructure.
  • Marketing topics in the utility sector.
  • Case-studies and other relevant topics regarding the sector.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Identify the basic dynamics underlying the evolution of the utility sector.
  • Illustrate the most important strategies and operational characteristics of utilities.
  • Describe the complexity of combining business development objectives with the public interest.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Use market macro-trends to interpret utilities strategies.
  • Compare and analyse different strategies within the same sector and across sectors.
  • Evaluate the economic and financial performances of utilities.
  • Formulate stakeholder engagement actions.
  • Assess the most important innovations in the utility sector.

Teaching methods

  • Face-to-face lectures
  • Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
  • Company visits
  • Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
  • Individual assignments

DETAILS

  • Guest speakers: managers of utilities illustrating their work.

  • Company visits: visits to companies plants.

  • Case studies: examples explaining topics of the course.

  • Individual assignments: students presenting particular topics regarding the course.


Assessment methods

  Continuous assessment Partial exams General exam
  • Written individual exam (traditional/online)
     x
  • Oral individual exam
     x
  • Individual assignment (report, exercise, presentation, project work etc.)
     x
  • Active class participation (virtual, attendance)
     x

ATTENDING STUDENTS

The student’s final evaluation is based on:

  • A pro-active course participation thanks also to interactive didactic tools.
  • A final exam with 30 questions (open and multiple choice), lasting 60 minutes. The exam is based on the the slides provided by the professors.

Or alternatively,

  • A PowerPoint document (about 30 slides) analyzing and discussing a relevant topic/case-study in the frame-work of the Energy Transition and the Circular Economy agreed with the Professor.

NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

Oral exam based on the slides and other teaching materials provided during the course.


Teaching materials


ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

Teacher’s slides and a selection of readings, articles and teaching notes, available on the Bboard.

Last change 01/06/2019 17:34