Participating in the seventh World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER) between 20 and 23 March 2018 in Cancùn, MEDREG contributed, exchanged views and benefited from the latest regulatory developments, and provided insights of the energy markets in the Mediterranean countries. We also benefited from the sessions on the opportunities and challenges faced by the energy sector around the themes of innovation, empowered consumers, dynamic markets and sustainable energy developments along with international fellow energy regulators.

The Forum, which is a leading international conference on energy regulation held every three years, were attended by more than 800 participants from 50 different countries.

As part of the various sessions addressing investment issues, technological innovation, energy storage, grid access, regulatory performance, decarbonisation and renewable energies, MEDREG provided insights of the regulatory developments in the Mediterranean countries.

In addition to the plenary and concurrent sessions, participants to the WFER benefited from a full training day on the basics of economic regulation of electricity and gas. The conference also saw an equal balance of women and men, vouching for the successful result of the Women in Energy initiative aimed at promoting and encouraging female presence in the energy sector.

More specifically, debating on the regulatory response to international oil and gas market volatility, Ms Gülefsan Demirbas, MEDREG Vice President and Head of the Strategy Development Department of the Turkish Regulator EMRA, stressed the importance of a fully liberalised market that offers third party access, good management of demand as well as bi-directional gas flow and storage; she also recalled the necessity to upgrade outdated gas infrastructure. In addition, she called for a closer cooperation between EU and Southern Mediterranean energy regulators and policy-makers to promote energy investment in the region.

Finally, Ms Demirbas invited regulators to pay particular attention to technological evolutions in electricity storage, which may have a significant impact on gas trade.

MEDREG, which benefits from the European Union’s financial support, brings together 25 regulators from 21 countries, spanning the European Union (EU), the Balkans and North Africa. Mediterranean regulators work together to promote greater harmonization of the regional energy markets and legislations, seeking progressive market integration in the Euro-Mediterranean basin. Through constant cooperation and information exchange among members, MEDREG aims at fostering consumer rights, energy efficiency, infrastructure investment and development, based on secure, safe, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable energy systems.

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