October 2009

Issue: October 2009

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Feature
- World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER IV)

Events
- WFER IV
- ERGEG workshop on the 10 year gas Network Development
- Regional Initiatives conference
Publications
- Press clippings on the WFER IV
- Closing Statement of the World Forum on Energy Regulation IV
- World Energy Regulators' Statement on Climate Change
- Announcement of the International Confederation of Energy Regulators

Press Release:
- 3 World Forum Press Releases on ICER, on Climate Change Statement, and on WFER IV Closing Statement


Region in the Spotlight
- New One-Stop Shop for Capacity Management on UK-France interconnector

Editorial

The feature is on the fourth World Forum in Energy Regulation (WFER IV) in Athens this month. A main outcome of WFER IV was that 11 regional associations of energy regulators worldwide set up a global confederation, the International Confederation of Energy Regulators (ICER). CEER President, Lord Mogg, was appointed chair of ICER for 3 years. ICER’s first output was to issue a joint statement by the world’ energy regulators on climate change which commits energy regulators to 8 concrete actions to help meet the climate change challenge.

Other conventions (albeit on a much smaller scale) also took place. On the 27th October, ERGEG hosted its (second) workshop on the 10 year gas Network Development Plan (NPD). Under the 3rd Package of energy legislation, EU TSO body is obliged to adopt a non-binding European10-YNDP every two years and the new Agency of regulators (ACER) shall review both the European 10-YNDP and national plans to identify inconsistencies with European 10-YNPD. ERGEG provided preliminary conclusions of its consultation earlier this year and informed participants of the status of its current consultancy study on scenario definitions:

Also at the heart of the 3rd Package is the development of EU-wide network codes which will be based on Framework Guidelines drafted by ACER (see feature of September Newsletter). A new section of the website is created on Framework Guidelines. It includes information on ERGEG first gas capacity allocation Expert Group meeting which took place this week.

The region in the spotlight this month is the France-UK-Ireland (FUI) electricity region, which this month introduced a new Capacity Management System on UK-France interconnector. Finally the annual ERGEG/European Commission Regional Initiatives conference will takes place on 17th November in Brussels.

World Forum On Energy Regulation (WFER IV)

The World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFERIV) is a 3 day global convention dedicated exclusively to energy regulation, held only once every three years. The WFER IV attracted over 1000 participants, attending this 3-day global convention from 18-21 October in Athens.

The Closing Statement of the fourth World Forum on Energy Regulation1 (WFER IV) in Athens focuses on two major outcomes. First, energy regulators worldwide created the International Confederation of Energy Regulators (ICER). Second, ICER issued the World Energy Regulators’ Statement on Climate agreed by 11 regional associations of regulators.

Regulators go global in setting up the International Confederation of Energy Regulators
11 of the world’s regional energy regulator associations decided to intensify their international dialogue by establishing the International Confederation of Energy Regulators (ICER). The 11 associations, which represent 200 regulatory authorities and span 5 continents, are: AFUR (Africa) ARIAE (Latin America), CAMPUT (Canada), CEER (Europe), EAPIRF (East Asia and the Pacific), ERRA (Central Europe and Eurasia), MEDREG (Mediterranean countries), NARUC (USA), OOCUR (the Caribbean), RERA (Southern Africa) and SAFIR (South Asia).   Furthermore the State Electricity Regulatory Commission of China and the Australian Energy Market Commission (who are not currently members of a particular regional associatin) expressed a very positive reaction and will consider joining ICER in the near future.

ICER has created four virtual working groups on the themes of WFERIV namely:
Security of Supply; Climate Change; Competitiveness and Affordability; and Education, training and Regulatory best practices.

Lord Mogg was appointed the first chair of ICER for the first three years leading up to next (fifth) WFER V in 2012. Quebec City, Canada was selected to host of WFER V

World Regulators’ Statement on Climate Change
ICER’s first output, agreed during WFERIV, is the World Energy Regulators’ Statement on Climate Change. It explains the energy regulators’ role in meeting the climate change challenge and commits regulators worldwide to eight concrete actions, including a report on regulatory best practices to promote energy efficiency to be presented at the next Energy Ministerial meeting of the G8 countries in 2010. This statement comes just weeks before the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009.

From Athens to Copenhagen –energy regulators commitments on climate change
Commenting on the road from Athens to Copenhagen, Lord  Mogg stated “Energy regulators have come a long way from their G8+ Statement on Climate Change in Rome in May this year to the World Energy Regulators Statement on Climate Change here in Athens. This commits global regulators to eight concrete actions to help meet the climate change challenge. Further work is being done through our new global confederation, ICER, also established here in Athens. Our next step naturally is the United Nations Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen in December, where we will highlight the important role of the energy regulators.”

CEER has been given official ‘observer’ status to the UNFCCC Conference on Climate Change in December 2009 in Copenhagen. CEER will represent ICER during the event and will highlight our Statement on Climate Change.

For outcomes, press releases, photos and quotes of distinguished speakers of WFER IV visit  /www.worldforumiv.info/

CEER/ERGEG Publications

Calendar of current and future public consultations

The standard period for ERGEG public consultation is 8 weeks. For further information (including ERGEG’s newly revised public consultation guidelines) visit the public consultations section of the website.   

The 2009 Regional Initiative Conference takes place in Brussels on 17 November 2009. Participation is by invitation only.

Events

See all dates of Regional Initiatives meetings (RCC, IG, SG) on the ERGEG online Calendar.  

Regional Initiatives Update

Region in the Spotlight - New One Stop Shop for Capacity Management on UK-France Interconnector

On 1 October the France-UK-Ireland (FUI) electricity region launched a new “one-stop-shop” for all capacity management aspects (including capacity allocation, secondary trading and nominations) of the French-English interconnector, the Interconnexion France Angleterre (IFA).

New (IFA) access rules were approved by regulators in September 2009 and the new capacity management system went live on 1st October 2009. The new improvements include hourly products during daily allocation, a firm nomination stage of long-term capacity, allowing extra capacity to be offered to users with the application of Use-It-Or-Sell-It arrangements and netting, the introduction of two intraday explicit auctions each day alongside the existing product range of daily to annual auctions.

There is also greater transparency of capacity being offered to the market in each auction, giving much more visibility to users. This new congestion management system aims to make more efficient use of the interconnector, to ensure compliance with the EU Congestion Management Guidelines and to improve harmonisation with other European borders. It brings some significant benefits to users of the interconnector (offering them more choice and flexibility). It is also a major step towards further integration of European energy markets, which is important for security of supply and the diversity of energy supplies. See
http://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Media+Centre/PressReleases/2009/02.10.09.htm

International Activities

CEER and the Greek regulator, RAE, hosted the World Forum on Energy Regulation IV, from 18-21 October in Athens.  This 3-day conference attracted more than 1,000.  See feature atticle above and visit www.worldforumiv.info.

About the European Energy Regulators' News

Reported content is given for information purposes only and does not legally bind any of the involved parties. Where third-party sources are mentioned, CEER/ERGEG is not responsible for the accuracy of the information. Your feedback on European Energy Regulators’ News is welcome, so as to improve future issues.

European Energy Regulators' News is a free, electronic newsletter and covers the period from the previous issue to the date of publication. It is your gateway to the news from Europe’s energy regulators, press releases, public consultations, advice to the European Commission, news from the Regional Initiatives, and regulation and policy developments at a national level.

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