East Asia Pacific Infrastructure Regulatory Forum On the Road Map to Progress 1
Agenda Introduction Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building EAPIRF Website Information Exchange EAPIRF Relationships 2
Introduction About EAPIRF Mission and Objectives 3
Introduction About EAPIRF The East Asia Pacific Infrastructure Regulatory Forum (EAPIRF) was established in 2003 EAPIRF consists of 49 core and affiliate members from across 18 countries in the EAP region Members come from the following infrastructure sectors Energy, Water and Sanitation, Telecommunications and Transportation 4
Introduction Mission and Objectives The mission of the Forum is to enhance regulatory decision making in the EAP region through the exchange of information and experience in infrastructure regulation, and through the promotion of training programs focused on regulatory issues common among the countries EAPIRF has two objectives, which together define the overall purpose of the Forum - Goal 1: Promote the exchange of information and sharing of experience in infrastructure regulation - Goal 2: Facilitate the development of training and capacity building opportunities for infrastructure regulators 5
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Introduction Annual General Meeting Thematic Workshop Core Training Program Economics of Infrastructure Regulation Performance of the Programs 6
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Introduction In keeping with EAPIRF s objectives of experience sharing and capacity building, the Forum organises the following events: - Annual General Meeting (AGM) - Thematic Workshops - Core Training Program on Economics of Infrastructure Regulation This structure of events successfully implements the three-tier strategy of - Inculcating a sense of ownership in EAPIRF members through decision making at the Annual General Meetings - Engaging high level infrastructure regulators in the 2 day workshop on an advanced regulatory theme - Providing core regulatory training on the economics of infrastructure regulation to mid-level regulatory staff through the CTP 7
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Annual General Meeting The EAPIRF holds a yearly Annual General Meeting. The AGM provides an opportunity for the EAPIRF Executive Committee to meet at least once a year face to face and take key decisions involving the Forum The AGM also provides an opportunity for participating members to be updated about the progress made by the Forum over the past year, and to be involved in the decision making process The AGM serves as a platform for participating members to meet, network and share experiences 8
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Annual General Meeting Five Annual General Meetings have been held so far at: - Bangkok, Thailand : June 2003 - Manila, Philippines: April 2004 - Singapore: October 2005 - Phnom Penh, Cambodia: November 2006 - Jakarta, Indonesia: November 2007 The EAPIRF events have witnessed as much participation from smaller countries from the Pacific, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam as from the larger countries such as Philippines, Indonesia, Australia etc. 9
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Thematic Workshops The AGMs held in 2004 and 2005 had key discussion topics as follows: - Manila, Philippines, 2004: Role of Infrastructure Regulators in Protecting Consumer Rights - Singapore, 2005: Regulatory Accountability Following this, a 2 day thematic workshop was integrated into the AGMs to provide high level regulators training on advanced regulatory topics - Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2006: Universal Service Obligations in Infrastructure - Jakarta, Indonesia, 2007: Competition Policy and Regulation in Infrastructure 10
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Core Training Program Economic Regulation of Infrastructure The first EAPIRF Core Training Program (CTP) was held in November 2007 in Jakarta, Indonesia The five day program on Economic Regulation of Infrastructure was attended by 35 participants from 12 countries, representing 26 organisations 11
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Performance Substantial Sharing of Lessons across Infrastructure Sectors The workshop and training program witnessed substantial and helpful exchanges on issues such as tariff-setting, dealing with political interference, regulatory credibility and accountability between regulators from the water, power, and telecoms sectors - At the AGM 2006, Ms. Senileba from the Fiji Commerce Commission shared the Commissions experience in designing and implementing a pro-poor strategy in the electricity sector - At the AGM 2007, concerns raised by the regulator from the Water Supply Authority, Lao on integrating standalone private players in niche areas were addressed by the regulator from the Electricity Authority of Cambodia, who shared their own experiences - Interesting issues like having a separate regulator for competition or having a sector regulator (including competition) have been debated 12
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Performance Sharing Successes as well as Failures The format of an exclusive forum designed just for regulators encouraged some remarkable candidness among participants to be frank and open about some of their mistakes - At the AGM 2007, the Jakarta Water Supply Regulatory Board highlighted the failures of their concession contracts - Failures on delivery of quality of supply / service were shared by the water sector regulators - PNG Power shared the problems of their poorly negotiated power purchase agreement with an IPP - A study on re-negotiating contracts and poor concession agreements was shared by the World Bank for the benefit of regulators 13
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Performance Dealing with Diversity The EAP region is very diverse in terms of language and culture. Moreover, EAPIRF members are from across various infrastructure sectors, and each member is in a different stage of regulatory reform and holds varying degrees of power and responsibilities. The Forum has used this diversity to its advantage, as members have a large and varied pool of experience to share and learn from. EAPIRF has been successful in serving as an integrating force that has brought together regulators across the region and sector around the common challenge of infrastructure regulation. 14
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Feedback The feedback received from the participants for AGM and Workshop 2006 at Phnom Penh, Cambodia as well as for the AGM and CTP 2007 at Jakarta, Indonesia has been very positive. The EAPIRF Secretariat is incorporating changes into the program based on the participants feedback, in order to make it even more relevant and effective. 15
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Feedback - 2006 AGM 2006 Content Feedback AGM 2006 Speaker Feedback 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 0 Relevance Subject Coverage Sector Coverage Break Out Overall 1 0 Knowledge Enthusiasm Approach Teaching Overall 1
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Feedback - 2007 AGM 2007 Content Feedback CTP 2007 Content Feedback Overall Cases/Examples Clarity Coverage Adequate Relevance Overall Degree of participation Interactivity of sessions Usefulness of tests Time sufficiency Cases/Examples Clarity Adequacy of Discussion Objectives Relevance 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% % Respondents who rated 4 & above % Respondents who rated 5 % Respondents who rated 4 & above % Respondents who rated 5 2
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Feedback I really enjoyed the conference and the training program. I ve learnt a lot and believe that I will at least put into practice what I ve learnt Stanley Kewa, PNG Power A high quality training program which gives much value add for regulatory practitioners. The content and knowledge discussed is cutting edge. Learning and sharing practices from different parts of the globe Mohammad Romadhoni, JWSRB 3
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building eedback I found the 2007 EAPIRF competition policy workshop a great success and indeed the most successful so far. The way the workshop was structured encouraged the participation of members. I found that members were willing to share experiences and tried to suggest solutions to a variety of problems which were raised. I think that after a number of years EAPRF members have developed a degree of respect for the institution and each other and we are seeing increasingly more open and frank discussion as a result. EAPIRF provides an opportunity for us all to learn from each others' experiences Joe Dimasi, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission 4
Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Feedback EAPIRF is an excellent opportunity for regulators in developing and newly developed countries to share real world experiences of regulation over a range of infrastructure industries. Regulators discussed openly and frankly the significant issues confronting them. Facilitation of the forum was unobtrusive and attendees were not presented with irrelevant and unrealistic regulatory models to copy. It was a pleasure to attend and participate in the forum. Peter Smith New Zealand Electricity Commission 5
EAPIRF Website Information Exchange EAPIRF has established and maintains a website as the primary tool between AGMs to enhance communications, interactions and networks among members Interaction between Members: Regulator in Focus Country and Regulatory Profiles Q&A Forum Information Sharing: Papers across sectors Links to regulatory resources Monthly updates on regulatory developments in the region and across the world Updates on learning events such Training, Workshops, Conferences & Seminars 6
EAPIRF Website Information Exchange Regulators in Focus: 2006 07 Each month an interview is conducted with the Chairman of a member Organisation, where the focus of the interview is on the achievements of the organisation and the challenges faced by it Papua New Guinea Water Board, Papua New Guinea Electricity Authority of Cambodia, Cambodia Independent Consumer and Competition Commission, Papua New Guinea Energy Regulatory Authority, Mongolia Ministry of Public Works and Utilities, Kiribati Water Supply Authority, Lao PDR Jakarta Water Supply Regulatory Board, Indonesia Energy Commission, Malaysia National Water Resource Board, Philippines Fiji Commerce Commission, Fiji 7
EAPIRF Website Website Information Information Exchange Exchange Regulatory Developments: 2006-07 Key regulatory developments taking place in the EAP region and across the world are posted on the EAPIRF website every month. The table below gives the number of developments that have been posted in the past year across countries and sectors Country Energy Telecom Water and Transportati Multi Sector Sanitation on Australia 9 4 2 3 1 Cambodia 13 1 China 1 3 1 1 Fiji 1 1 Indonesia 1 1 2 Lao PDR 4 4 Malaysia 1 1 Mongolia 1 New Zealand 1 2 1 2 1 Papua New 2 1 Guinea Philippines 11 1 3 1 2 Republic of 1 Korea Singapore 5 4 2 4 2 Vietnam 1 Asia Pacific 3 8
EAPIRF Website Information Exchange Training Outreach A database of learning events such as training programs, workshops, seminars, lecture series, online courses etc in the area of infrastructure regulation is regularly updated Training Service Providers Areas of Training IP 3 ACORE PURC UCT Graduate School of Business NARUC Energy Markets Group European Utilities Telecom Council Multimedia University of Malaysia OXERA Financial Modelling PPP Skills Quality of Service Pricing and Analysis Utility Benchmarking & Monitoring Stakeholder Consultation, PR Competition Policy Infrastructure Project Finance Legal Framework of Regulation 9
EAPIRF Website Information Exchange EAPIRF Website Performance Website Performance Statistics Total Number of Hits on the EAPIRF Website in 2007: 262127 Popular Sections No. of Hits Monthly Average Regulator In Focus 660 Papers 335 Training and Workshops 215 Links 122 Regulatory Developments 74 10
EAPIRF Website Information Exchange EAPIRF Website Performance Website Statistics (Jan 07 Oct 07) 11
EAPIRF Relationships Members Sponsors Partner Organisations 12
EAPIRF Relationships EAPIRF Members Strong and Genuine Ownership - EAPIRF is managed by an Executive Committee (ExComm) comprising elected representatives of its member organisations which makes strategic and operational decisions for the Forum - EAPIRF members are involved in the decision making process, as well as in discussing the annual progress of the Forum at the yearly AGMs - EAPIRF events are organized and hosted entirely by EAPIRF members, supported by that country s regulatory community - Over time, a strong sense of ownership has developed among ExComm representatives as well as the broader membership EAPIRF has received an expression of interest from Saudi Arabia to the join the Forum. This is one of the indications of EAPIRF s success 13
EAPIRF Relationships EAPIRF Members Sustainability - EAPIRF now has over 10 members who have paid the membership fees, and the number is steadily increasing - Having collected over USD 15000 in membership fees this year, EAPIRF is taking its first steps towards self-sustainability - Members who have participated in the AGM and CTP, especially members from Malaysia and New Zealand, have pledged to further strengthen their support to the Forum - The Secretariat continues to encourage more members to pay the membership fees. In 2007, members who paid fees had the incentive of receiving sponsorship to attend the AGM and CTP - The Forum can count on fee paying members leading by example and encouraging other members also to pay the fees The Secretariat, with support from current members, continues to add other regulatory organisations in the region to the EAPIRF membership 14
EAPIRF Relationships Sponsorship EAPIRF continues to receive valuable support from AusAID as well as the World Bank. Both AusAID and the World Bank have been active participants in the EAPIRF 2006 and 2007 events At the same time, EAPIRF is also on a sponsorship drive to support its Core Training Program - BP Gas Power and Renewables has contributed USD 10000 to EAPIRF - PwC (as Secretariat) has reallocated USD 9000 from its budget towards sponsoring members to attend the 2007 AGM and CTP - Other private sector organisations are also being approached 15
EAPIRF Relationships Partner Organisations EAPIRF has built valuable partnerships with other regulatory associations and regulatory capacity building organisations. These include: - The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) - Public Utility Research Centre (PURC) - International Energy Regulation Network (IERN) - Australian Centre of Regulatory Economics (ACORE) - Agenzia Napoletana Energia e Ambiente (ANEA) - South Asia Forum for Infrastructure Regulation (SAFIR) - Member of the Advisory Committee of the World Energy Forum Through these partnerships, EAPIRF Members are informed of relevant activities and training programs held by partner organisations and have been invited to participate and share their experience in partner organisations meetings and forums. 16
EAPIRF Relationships EAPIRF Unique Strengths Knowledge Transfer A Two Way Process The knowledge sharing and information exchange that takes place at EAPIRF is two way. The training programs and knowledge sharing platforms are beneficial not only to developing countries but also to members from developing countries such as Australia, New Zealand etc. Moreover, these countries not only learn from the training programs held by the Forum but also contribute to them by sharing their experiences with the developing countries, and helping them learn from their own mistakes. Viable Alternative EAPIRF aims to serve as the most viable option for regulators from the EAP region, in comparison to other regional and global regulatory networks. The Forum aims to achieve this through providing training that is tailored to the needs of the region, and conducting the training within the EAP region so as to reduce the costs incurred by the regulators. 17
EAPIRF The Way forward EAPIRF needs representation from other EAP countries - China, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong EAPIRF needs greater participation from current members from countries such as Micronesia, Vanuatu, Timor-Leste etc - A number of members from the Pacific Island countries do not participate in EAPIRF activities or attend the AGM and CTP. This is because of poor communication channels to these countries, and the distance and cost involved in travelling to the locations where the AGM and CTP is held. EAPIRF needs to help members overcome this barrier and take greater part in the Forum s activities and training programs. The Forum needs to build its sustainability both through membership fees as well as sponsorship funds - EAPIRF s challenge for the year ahead is to encourage greater number of members to pay the membership fees 18
Thank You 19