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