Under the ICER platform, energy regulators cooperate within ICER through Virtual Working Groups (VWGs).
From 2009-2015, ICER was structured along four Virtual Working Groups: Security of Supply, Climate Change, Competition and Affordability, and Good Regulatory Practices. For the 2015-2018 period, the Working Groups were refocused on the roles and challenges that regulators face in evolving market situations, as follows:
VWG1: Electricity
Co-Chair: José Venegas
Potential issues to be covered:
- Integration of regional markets
- Development of capacity markets
- Wholesale & retail competition
- Expansion of coverage: policies and regulatory mechanisms
- The role of regulators in reliability
- Nuclear energy issues
Members: 58
VWG2: Gas and Other Fuels
Chair: Bagdagul Kaya Caner, LL. M.
Co-Chair: Karem Hanafy Mahmoud Mohamed.
Potential issues to be covered:
- Integration of regional markets
- Wholesale & retail competition
- Expansion of coverage: policies and regulatory mechanisms
- Climate change challenges on natural gas
- The role of regulators in safety and quality issues
- Biofuels
- LPG and other fossil fuels
Members: 40
VWG3: Technology and Innovation
Chair: Carolyn Calwell, Chief Corporate Services Officer & General Counsel at Ontario Energy Board
Co-Chair: Rashmi Somasekharan, Deputy Chief (Regulatory Affairs) at CERC
Potential issues to be covered:
- Renewables: policies and challenges
- Cyber-security issues
- Implementation of smart grids and distributed generation: challenges and consequences
- Electricity storage & electric vehicles
Members: 40
Activities among members of the VWGs may include:
- Workshops on specific issues (alone or jointly with collaborating stakeholder’s organizations)
- Webinars by regulatory experts
- Development of reports
- Specific surveys
- Data gathering
- Side events during regional regulatory association conferences
