3
November 2004
| Independent
and Transparent Utility Regulation |
| | |
| 8.00-8.30 | Conference
Registration
|
| 8.30-9.30 |
Opening Ceremony
Introductions:
Mrs. Rita Persaud-Kong, Secretary-General of OOCUR
Welcome
Address:
Mr. J. Paul Morgan, Vice-Chairman of OOCUR & Director General
of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) Jamaica
Opening Address:
Mr. Justice Prem Persaud, Chairman of OOCUR & Chairman of the Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) Guyana
Keynote Address:
Dr. the Honorable
Paul Robertson, Minister of Development, Jamaica
|
9.30-10.00
| ~Coffee~
|
| 10.00-10.30 |
Feature Address: "Importance
of Independent Utility Regulators, with Special Reference to Telecommunications
in the Caribbean"
Mr. Juan A. B. Belt, Director, Office of Energy
and Information Technology (EIT), Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture &
Trade (EGAT) and US Agency for International Development (USAID)
|
| 10.30
-10.45 | "Fundamentals
of an Independent and Transparent Regulator" (paper)
Presenter:
Mrs. Cyralene Benskin-Murray, Attorney-at-Law & General Legal Counsel/Commission
Secretary of the Fair
Trading Commission (FTC) Barbados
|
10.45-11.15
| Discussion
|
| 11.15-11.30 |
"The
Challenges of water sector regulation from the perspective of the Water &
Sewerage Authority (WASA) of Trinidad and Tobago"
Presenter: Mr. Wilbert Harris, Accountant & Head of Internal Audit of WASA
|
| 11.30-11.45 | Discussion
|
| 11.45-12.00 | "Accountability
and Benchmarking the Regulator" (paper)
Presenter: Ms. Carol Balkaran, Economist & Tariff Analyst of the Regulated
Industries Commission (RIC)
|
| 12.00-12.15 | Discussion
|
| 12.15-12.30 | Sponsor:
Mr. Michael Mc Naught of Bill Express, Grace Kennedy Remittance Services Ltd.
|
| 12.30-2.00 | ~Lunch~
|
| 2.00-2.15 | "Regulatory
Governance in the Commonwealth Caribbean-Balancing The Independence and Accountability
of Utility Regulators"
Presenter: Mr. Floyd Phillips, Commissioner
of FTC
|
| 2.15-2.30 | Discussion
|
| 2.30-2.45 | "Ethical
& Legal Issues for PUC-U.S. Case Study"
Presenter: Mr.
Brian J. Moline, Chairman of the Kansas Corporation Commission, USA
|
| 2.45-3.00 | Discussion
|
| 3.00-3.15 | ~Coffee~
|
| 3.15-3.30 | "Ethics
as a Fundamental Construct for Best-Practice Regulation: Advancing the evolution
of a Code in Guyana"
Presenter: Mr. J. Cartey Caesar, Commissioner,
PUC Guyana
|
| 3.30-4.00 | Discussion
|
|
4 November 2004 | Experiences
of Regulators - Carrying our Functions in an Independent and Transparent Manner |
| | |
| 9.00-9.15 | "Performance
Based Ratemaking - The Rhode Island Experience"
Presenter:
Mr. Elia Germani, Chairman of the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission, USA
|
| 9.15-9.30 | Discussion
|
| 9.30-9.45 | "Regulatory
Performance vs. Independence-The European Experience" (paper)
Presenter: Virendra Ajodhia, Electrical Engineer & Consultant of
KEMA Consulting, Germany
|
| 9.45-10.00 | Discussion
|
| 10.00-10.15 |
"U.S.
Perspective on Security of Supply-System Reliability and Vulnerability"
Presenter: Ms. Constance B. White, Commissioner of the Utah Public Service
Commission, USA
|
| 10.15-10.30 | Discussion
|
| 10.30-10.45 | ~Coffee~
|
| 10.45-11.00 | "Quality
of Service Standards as a Measure of Regulatory Transparency and Effectiveness:
A case study of Jamaica" (paper)
Presenter: Ms. Marie James, Economist, OUR
|
| 11.00-11.15 | Discussion
|
| 11.15-11.30 | "Handling
Complaints In an Independent and Transparent Manner, The Trinidad & Tobago
Experience" (paper)
Presenter:
Mr. Mohan Chadee, Customer Services Manager of the RIC
|
| 11.30-11.45 | "The
Role of the Consumer in Utilities Regulation" (paper)
Presenter: Ms. Yasmin M. Chong, Chairman Consumer Advisory Committee on Utilities
Regulation at the OUR
|
| 11.30-11.45 | Discussion
|
| 11.45-12.00 | "Grant
Of Licences In An Independent and Transparent Manner" (paper)
Presenter: Ms. Judith Smith, Attorney-at-Law & Legal Counsel of
the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Bahamas
|
| 12.00-12.15 | Discussion
|
| 12.15-12.35 | Sponsor:
Mr. Ben Boyd of Itron Inc.
|
| 12.35-1.45 | ~Lunch~
|
| 1.45-2.00 |
"Regulatory
Consistency and Predictability and Experiences of Independent and Transparent
Telecommunications Regulation - The Case of the OECS"
Presenter:
Mr. Roy Humes, Consultant of the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority
(ECTEL), Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
|
| 2.00-215 | Discussion
|
| 2.15-2.30 | "Competitive
Telecommunications Markets, Regulatory Risk and Capture" (paper)
Presenter: Mr. Patrick K. Williams of the OUR
|
| 2.30-2.45
| Discussion
|
| 2.45-3.00 |
"Independent
or Interdependent - The Barbados Experience" (paper)
Presenter: Ms. Sandra J.M. Sealy, Engineer & Telecommunications Analyst
of the FTC
|
| 3.00-3.15 | Discussion
|
| 3.15-3.30 | ~Coffee~
|
| 3.30-3.45 |
"Framework
issues: Independence and Effectiveness in Utility Regulation"
Presenter: Mr. Bob Rowe, Chairman of the Montana Public Service Commission, USA
|
| 3.45-4.00 | Discussion
|
| 4.00-4.15 |
"Experience
of a Regulator in the Electricity and Water and Wastewater Sectors - The Trinidad
and Tobago Experience" (paper)
Presenters: Mr. Harjinder S. Atwal, Economist & Executive Director of
the RIC
Ms. Shinelle Padmore, Economist & Tariff Analyst of the RIC
|
| 4.15-4.30 | Discussion
|
| 5
November 2004 | Institutional
Design/Framework for Independent Regulators |
| | |
| 9.15-9.30 | "Ministerial
Policy Directives: The Case for an Appropriate Framework" (paper)
Presenter: Mr. Franklin Brown, Senior Economist of the OUR
|
| 9.30-
9.45 | Discussion
|
| 9.45-10.00 | "The
Search for Optimal Institutional Design for Utilities Regulation: Is the Multi-Sector
Model Still Viable?" (paper)
Presenter: Mr. Ansord E. Hewitt, Economist of the OUR
|
| 10.00-10.15 | Discussion
|
| 10.15-10.30 | ~Coffee~
|
| 10.30-10.45 | "Measuring
Regulatory Independence: A Caribbean Perspective" (paper)
Presenter: Mr. Claude Byer, Economist & Tariff Analyst of the RIC
|
| 10.45-11.00 | Discussion
|
| 11.00-11.15 | "Generating
Trust and Respect through Transparent and Impartial Regulation" (paper)
Presenter: Mr. Andrew Gorton- Regulatory Manager of Digicel™ Mossel
(Jamaica) Limited
|
| 11.15-11.30 | Discussion
|
| 11.30-11.45 | "Survival
Guide for the Independent Regulator" (paper)
Presenter: Dr. Mark A. Jamison- Economist & Lecturer of the Public Utility
Research Center, University of Florida, USA
|
| 11.45-12.00 | Discussion
|
| 12.00-12.30 | Wrap-up
Session
|
| 12.30-12.45 | "Overview
of NARUC/USAID Global Regulatory Network Program"
Mr. Facundo
Alberdi of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC)
|
| 12.45-1.00 |
Vote of Thanks moved
by Mr. Peter Bethel, Chairman PUC Bahamas
|
| | ~Lunch~ |
