Should more water be diverted to or from electricity generation? This timely question is
addressed in this short volume. Two different approaches are introduced and compared: The first
is a cost-benefit analysis examining the case of re-regulating a Swedish hydropower plant in
which water is diverted from electricity generation to the downstream dryway. The proposed
scenario generates environmental and other benefits but comes at a cost in terms of lost
electricity. The second study introduces an approach very different from the one used in
conventional cost-benefit analysis and provides a set of measures designed so that most if
not all affected parties will be better off. Thus in contrast to a conventional cost-benefit
analysis which draws on hypothetical compensation measures the new approach envisages actual
compensation. Comparing two different theoretical frameworks on the basis of a real-world case
this study can be seen as a manual that can be used to evaluate reasonably small re-regulation
of rivers.
