Report launch: Institutional Architecture for Regional Power System Integration – Government, Utility and Regulator Roles

As part of the RETA Flagship Project on Interconnectors, IEA has collaborated with the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and IRENA to produce this first guidance notes, as part of a series to help key stakeholders navigate the challenges associated with regional power system interconnectors. This knowledge product focuses on the soft infrastructure of cross-border power exchange, in accordance with the priority topics identified through a survey of regulators in February-March 2023. The guidance note can be accessed here.

Under this flagship project, the IEA, ESMAP and IRENA will continue to collaborate for the upcoming guidance notes planned for early next year.

Working Paper: Advancing Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Development in SIDS to Support Energy Transition

Following up from the two workshops convening regulators from Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean and Pacific, which focused on distributed energy resources, RETA has collaborated with UN ESCAP and RMI on a working paper summarising the discussions and findings. The paper outlines some of the unique challenges and opportunities faced by small islands when integrating distributed energy resources into small grids. The working paper can be accessed here.

We continue our collaboration between energy regulators in these two regions which have so much to share with each other, with the next workshop on resilient energy access planned for November 15/16.

African Regulators’ Peer Review and Learning Network

On 5 and 6 October a new round of the African Regulators’ Peer Review and Learning Network took place, with CEOs from regulators in Cameroon, Nigeria, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eqypt, Zambia, Namibia, Eswatini, Malawi and Rwanda taking part, with a number of regional organisations and development partners. The work is led by Power Futures Lab with the support of RETA delivery partner GET.transform, and RETA was proud to attend the opening of the session and see the value of peer-to-peer learning between regulators in Africa

Electric vehicle regulation: ICER Technology & Innovation Working Group

On 27 September 2023, a webinar was held as part of RETA’s ongoing collaboration with the International Confederation of Energy Regulator’s Technology & Innovation Working Group.

During the webinar, Dr. Okan Yardimci from the Republic of Türkiye’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority delivered a presentation on Electric Vehicle charging regulations using the case study of Türkiye. He focused on key regulatory focus areas to accelerate the energy transition and actively engaged with the participants through a live survey. Following the presentation, participants raised valuable questions which explored EV charging regulations in various contexts.

Those that missed the webinar can watch the session here, and view Dr Yardimci’s slides here.

Third RETA workshop on digitalization

On 14 September 2023, the third and final online RETA workshop in the series on digitalization took place, facilitated by the International Energy Agency and Energy Innovation. 32 participants joined from all over the world.

The workshop featured some high-level speakers focusing on technical solutions, including Audrey Zibelman and speakers from Energy Web, the Californian PUC and the regulator and independent system operator in Chile.  The need to build global standards for the digitalization of energy systems, and to get it right the first time round, was underlined. Specific examples of dynamic pricing, models for digital hubs and the use of blockchain were explored.

Following the presentations, the participants were divided into breakout rooms to engage in deeper discussions on the three case studies presented from Australia, California and Chile. Regulators can access materials from the workshop here.

Third RETA workshop for SIDS

On 6/7 September the third workshop for regulators from Small Island Developing States took place as part of RETA’s flagship project.

The session was the first of two workshops making up the module on resilient energy access. It was facilitated by the Global Green Growth Institute and featured a well-received presentation from IRENA. 13 regulators from the Pacific and Caribbean participated. Stayed tuned for updates on the date for the next workshop.

WFER panel on decarbonization

On August 23, RETA moderated a panel with RETA participants and delivery partners during the 8th World Forum on Energy Regulation in Lima, Peru. The panel focused on decarbonisation in energy regulator’s decision making. Representatives from Ofgem, NURC, RAP, and the IEA, participated in the debate moderated by the RETA coordinator.

Fourth RETA Steering Committee meeting

On 22 August 2023, the fourth RETA Steering Committee meeting was held in Lima.

During the meeting, the SC engaged in discussions regarding the progress made on the five flagship projects. Particular attention was given to the development of the Knowledge Hub, and a desire for regulators to be part of the testing process. The SC members emphasised the significance of workshops in facilitating meaningful dialogues that allow for the exchange of various regulatory perspectives.

The meeting also delved into deliberations concerning upcoming areas of priority. Looking ahead, the next meeting is scheduled for early 2024, which will mark the conclusion of the current SC’s two-year term.

Second workshop on digitalization

On 28 June 2023, the second online RETA workshop on digitalization was organized, facilitated by RMI and Energy Innovation, attracting the participation of 20 regulators.

During the workshop, the French energy regulator, the Australian energy regulator, and the Indian-based Council on Environment, Energy and Water presented case studies highlighting the advantages of digitalization in the energy system.

Following the presentations, the participants were divided into breakout rooms to engage in deeper discussions on the three topics presented: demand-side flexibility, the integration challenges of consumer energy sources, and advanced metering infrastructure.

GET.Transform becomes RETA delivery partner

RETA looks forward to collaborating with GET.transform in assisting developing and emerging countries worldwide in advancing their energy sector transformations. GET.transform is part of a European multi-donor platform delivering on international energy and climate goals, and draws on the experience of a former EU programme which provided energy policy advisory for 13 years in more than 35 countries.

The work started in April, stay tuned for more updates soon.

Workshop on Deployment of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs)

On the 1/2 of June, the second workshop on Deployment of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in Small Island Developing States was held remotely with 46 participants, including regulators from Pacific and Caribbean islands, and facilitators from RMI, RETA, UN ESCAP, and other partners including GGGI, IRENA and World Bank.

The workshop focused on three topics: examining various tariff design options and associated regulatory reforms to accelerate deployment of DERs, sharing participants’ experiences in implementing regulatory solutions for supporting DER adoption, and engaging in collaborative problem-solving to address challenges faced by regulators in advancing the DER agenda.

More information on some of the best practices identified will follow, as well as future workshops for small island regulators on other topics.

Energy transition training in Budapest

RETA was proud to collaborate with the Energy Regulators Regional Association (ERRA) to organise their first training session for energy regulators focusing on the energy transition. The training took place over the course of a week in Budapest and online, with lively discussions and expert presentations. RETA delivery partners IEA, IRENA and the Regulatory Assistance Project contributed to the teaching, and regulators from Austria, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Latvia, North Macedonia, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and West Africa participated.

We hope to make a small selection of the presentations available to all RETA participants in the future knowledge hub. Energy regulators have to be equipped to deal with and accelerate the energy transition, and this training was an important step in achieving that.

RETA at Canada’s CAMPUT Conference.

The association of Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial energy and utility regulators met in Toronto for their annual conference from the 7 to 10 May 2023.

The discussions were all around “New Regulatory Pathways for a Just Energy Transition”, and the RETA Administrator, as well as a fellow RETA regulator E-Control from Austria, were delighted to be part of the conversation. Whether and how decarbonisation is part of energy regulators mandates, and how Canada can become better interconnected between the provinces and territories were big topics of discussion, both key elements of RETA’s flagship projects.

More information on CAMPUT’s conference can be found here.

RETA third Steering Committee meeting.

The third meeting of the RETA Steering Committee was held virtually on the 21 March 2023, with a focus on the delivery of RETA’s five flagship projects.

The Steering Committee approved RETA’s 2023 Workplan and a number of new partnerships which will ensure that RETA is able to provide more technical assistance and relevant projects to regulators.

The Steering Committee also agreed to hold their next meeting in person at the World Forum on Energy Regulation in Peru, now taking place in August.

Meeting with African regulators on electric cooking

RETA facilitated the participation of African energy regulators at a meeting held in South Africa by the Climate Parliament and Modern Energy Cooking Services in February.

The meeting focused on the transition from polluting cooking fuels to electricity. Regulators from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Nigeria attended, as well as secretariat members from RETA and the African Forum of Utility Regulators.

The issue was identified as a pressing issue for many African regulators, with interesting examples being shared between regulators, and RETA will work further on electric cooking.

Eastern Caribbean peer to peer exchange

The Global Green Growth Institute and the Organisation Eastern Caribbean States organised an interactive session on 2 November for energy regulators to discuss Regulatory Guidelines on Interconnection of Customer-Owned Renewable Energy Facilities to the Grid. This knowledge exchange will help form a basis for RETA’s flagship project on Small Island Developing States.

RETA launch at the COP26.

The International Energy Agency (IEA), International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Ofgem and World Bank launched at the COP26 a global initiative “Regulatory Energy Transition Accelerator” to accelerate the energy transition to provide clean, secure, and affordable supplies to everyone. Energy regulators have a key role to play in turning ambition into real-world action in hitting global climate goals. The Regulatory Accelerator enables them to collaborate to seize opportunities and solve problems to speed up the global energy transition at the lowest cost.

In particular, it can help countries with less developed energy systems to leapfrog the carbon-intensive paths other countries have previously taken.

The joint statement launched at COP26 can be found here.