IERN International Energy Regulation Network

Content

The idea to develop a permanent networking tool to exchange information among regulators and stakeholders of energy regulation at a worldwide level was launched at the second World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER) held in Rome in October 2003.

The Closing Statement of the Programme Committee of the 2nd World Forum on Energy Regulation - which was adopted as Conclusion document by the participants - agreed that the Forum's organisers should take further steps, among others, in promoting the establishment of an International Energy Regulation Network that should:

• serve as permanent platform for international information exchange and dialogues around regulatory issues and "best practices";
• be an informal internet based network grounded on the spontaneous participation and commitment of its members on the score of the International Competition Network (more then 70 national and multinational antitrust agencies and authorities of countries with long standing tradition in competition policy like the US and newcomers);
• be opened to energy regulators and their regional associations in the first phase and to other energy market participants further on;
• co-operate with the main other energy regulatory networks (such as NARUC's International Regulatory Network), through the reciprocal use of contacts, websites, newsletters in a first stage and eventually with other not energy based networks in a second one.

CEER, as co-promoter with other regional associations of regulators of the WFER in Rome, October 2003, took the initiative and with the special support of AEEG (the Italian regulator and organiser of the WFER in Rome) launched a first pilot project in 2005.

The contents of the pilot project were developed, in collaboration wit ERRA, ARIAE and CEER members, under the supervision of the Florence School of Regulation, the centre for research, discussion and training in regulation based in the European University Institute in Fiesole (Italy) and co-promoted by CEER.