The World Bank's initiatives of social accountability and transparency over the past two decades are increasingly founded on the notion that transparency and social accountability of public institutions are essential for stimulating economic growth. Social accountability refers to the responsiveness of the state to the needs of its citizens, and encompasses a broad range of actions and mechanisms such as tracking of public expenditures, monitoring of public service delivery, and working with citizen advisory boards. Transparency entails access to and effective use of information by citizens, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local communities, and the private sector. To achieve this objective, the World Bank and Egypt Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (ERA) - in consultation with Kantor management consultant - finds it necessary to establish systems and procedures for: (a) proactively disclosing information about the power sector's quality of service, operational, and financial performance, and development plans and policies
(b) seeking customer and public feedback
and (c) engaging customers in monitoring sector performance. Such a system, by helping to improve both the performance of the sector and the public acceptance of its policies and plans, ultimately can raise the sector s efficiency, quality, and sustainability. This study covers four interlocking areas (institutional analysis
performance benchmarking
customer interface-transparency and public information systems
and consumer surveys). After analyzing and identifying weaknesses in each area separately, corrections are then suggested that encompass the interlocking whole.