|
|
| President Slave Ivanovski (left) and Commissioner David Coen (right) accepting commemorative partnership program plaques from NARUC's Executive Director Charles Gray during the USAID Partnership Summit, Washington, DC, October 8, 2006 |
On October 8, 2006, representatives from the USAID-funded energy regulatory partnership programs gathered in Washington, DC, to discuss the benefits of long-term cooperative relationships between US organizations and their energy counterparts in developing and transitional economies.
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and the United States Energy Association (USEA) serve as the administrators of these bilateral and multilateral management exchange programs which convey U.S experiences and best industry practices to partnering institutions. Such activities have been conducted worldwide and have addressed practically every aspect of organizational and policy operations with a goal to establish long-term professional linkages between energy enterprises, regulators and non- governmental organizations and provide a learning mechanism for the U.S. energy industry to transfer its know-how in market-based energy.
The Honorable Diane Munns, President of NARUC and Commissioner from Iowa Utilities Board, and Mr. Barry Worthington, Executive Director of USEA, offered welcoming remarks and partnership perspectives. The program then featured introductions of nine partnership delegations. Dr. Juan Belt, Director of Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade, and Dr. Robert Ichord, Chief of Energy and Infrastructure, Europe and Eurasia, reviewed the evolution of USAID energy program assistance in Europe and Eurasia, historical establishment of independent regulatory authorities and various examples of power sector reforms. The agenda then featured presentations and discussions on critical regulatory functions and country case studies. Representatives from Jamaica, Albania, Kyrgyzstan and Macedonia analyzed the role of their regulators in sectoral reforms, licensing, tariff and market development, respectively. All presenters reviewed various stages of market opening and privatization and on-going efforts to attract foreign ownership to improve the market performance and robustness. Representatives from Croatia, Ghana, and Moldova examined the role of their agencies in international trade and regional markets, noting examples of increased cross-border trade, the Energy Community of Southeastern Europe (ECSEE), regionalization and market clustering, as well as various collaborative efforts from the international donor community to continue support for reforms.
The afternoon award ceremony recognized representatives from two NARUC partnerships - Macedonia-Vermont and Moldova-Iowa - for their commitment and outstanding performance in the bilateral regulatory programs. To date, the four Commissions held six and four exchanges, respectively, and have significantly improved their operations and regulatory competencies as a result of the mutual collaboration. The Commissions received commemorative plaques honoring the conclusion of their cooperative partnerships.
The third program segment featured presentations and issues from Bulgaria, Zambia, and Russia. Mr. Vidmantas Jankauskas, Chairman of the Lithuanian National Control Commission, evaluated the institutional development of national energy regulatory Commissions, emphasizing attributes of independent regulatory decision-making and stable legal framework in which to adopt rules and procedures. Commissioner Svetla Todorova from the Bulgarian State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission then reviewed the country experience in adopting and implementing the Uniform System of Accounts and financial monitoring. The remaining presentations focused on the importance of professional development and procedural capacity-building.
The Summit delegates concluded that the U.S. foreign assistance in the form of cooperative partnerships has greatly enhanced the pace of institutional development, structural reforms and impacted positively fulfilling of growing regulatory mandates.
View presentations from this activity
For more information about this partnership, please contact:
Martina Schwartz
Manager, International Programs
tel: 202-898-2448
fax: 202-384-1555
email: mschwartz@naruc.org
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC)
http://www.naruc.org
|
|
|
