What is behind Bolivia's latest energy sector nationalization?

Re-posted with permission from the publishers as a PDF document as part of an Institutional Repository collection to aggregate energy policy, regulation, dialogue and educational materials.Bolivian President Evo Morales on May 1 seized the local unit of Spain's Red Eléctrica, the owner of approximately 85 percent of the South American country's power grid. Morales alleged that only $81 million had been invested in the country's power grid since it was privatized in 1997, while Spain's ambassador to Bolivia, Ramon Santos, said the takeover sends "a negative message that generates distrust," the Associated Press reported. Will the state be able to effectively take control of the electrical grid? Is the nationalization a good thing for the Bolivian power sector and will it lead to increased investment? How does the move compare to takeovers in other South American countries