Editorial Regulators are already looking ahead to 2017, identifying work priorities for next year. Once again energy consumers remain at the core of our work. We have opened a consultation on our draft 2017 work programme. We also welcome your oral feedback on it directly at our 2016 Customer Conference (11 July).
Don’t miss this year’s customer conference (register here) which will be opened by European Commission Vice President, Mr Šefčovič, or the Sustainable Energy Week event (16 June) on engaged consumers.
For news about the new chair (John Betkoski) of the energy regulators’ global body, ICER, see the international section below.
Feature: Consumers remain a top work priority for energy regulators in 2017
For many years, CEER consults during the summer period on its forward-looking work programme.
What are CEER's priority areas for 2017? Sharing experiences and good regulatory practices remains a fundamental goal for CEER, the European association of energy national regulatory authorities (NRAs).
The draft CEER 2017 Work Programme, currently under public consultation, also has four priority areas of work: • consumers and retail markets, • new legislative/policy developments, • the role of distribution system operators, and • international work.
These priority areas reflect the commitments made by regulators in the September 2014 ‘Bridge to 2025’ paper. By way of example only, CEER committed to facilitate a more active participation of smaller consumers in the markets. Hence it is not surprising that our 2016 Customer Conference (11 July) is dedicated to consumers as key energy market players. Neither is it surprising thatconsumers are set to remain a top CEER priority in 2017.
We will be active in advising the European Commission as it develops proposals to further develop the Internal Energy Market. We believe CEER is ideally placed to assess policies from the perspective of customer interests and we will work to help European NRAs to play their full part in the resulting policies as they emerge. We will continue to examine the changing role of DSOs and how the regulatory framework should evolve to keep pace with those changes. Our international relations with fellow regulators within and beyond Europe and its neighbouring markets will also remain a CEER priority. How can you help shape the priorities? Within the 4 priority areas, we identify 15 specific outputs which we commit to working on in 2017. These specific deliverables are mostly reports or guidelines of good practice. We are seeking feedback not only on the 4 priority areas but also on the 15 individual deliverables. Interested parties may submit written responses to our online consultation before the 31 July deadline. Our Customer Conference (11 July) will also be an opportunity to provide views orally on CEER’s draft Work Programme for 2017.
Next Steps In Autumn, CEER will review the feedback from the consultation process and available NRA resources to deliver the 2017 work programme. The agreed 2017 Work Programme and our considered reaction to the comments received during the consultation will be published at the end of the year.
