The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s (URCA) will host the Tenth Annual Conference of the Organisation of Caribbean Utility Regulators (OOCUR), from Wednesday November 7th to Friday November 9th at the Grand Lucayan Resort in Freeport, Grand Bahama.
Under the theme Utility Regulation in the Caribbean: A Case of the Harmonization of Approaches to Regulation, the conference will be opened by the Hon. Khaalis Rolle, Minster of State for Investments.
This occasion is a particularly special one for OOCUR, which in July of this year, marked its tenth anniversary. The regional non-profit organisation was established on July 26th in 2002, in Ocho Rios Jamaica. The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) which preceded URCA, was one of six founding members, which also included:
- Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
- Fair Trading Commission, Barbados
- Office of Utilities Regulation, Jamaica
- Public Utilities Commission, Guyana
- Regulated Industries Commission, Trinidad & Tobago
To date, OOCUR comprises a membership of twelve full members, including regulatory bodies with responsibilities in telecommunications, electricity, natural gas, water and transportation sectors in the Caribbean. Associate membership is open to non-Caribbean utility regulators. OOCUR is dedicated to improving utility regulation and fostering transparent and stable utility regulation through autonomous and independent regulators in member countries.
Since its founding, OOCUR has organised an annual meeting where professionals and staff from among its members and from companies and entities throughout the Caribbean, and regulatory professionals from other regions share relevant information and experiences. The annual gathering not only contributes to the advancement of utility policy, regulation and management, but also aids members in meeting their training and development needs and goals.
This year’s annual meeting will include participants from countries throughout the Caribbean and also the United States, United Kingdom and Ghana. Twenty five papers will be presented over the three-day conference including two from URCA representatives. URCA General Counsel Vincent Wallace-Whitfield and Stephen Bereaux who is the Director for Policy and Regulation have jointly prepared a paper on Content Regulation and Number Portability in The Bahamas. URCA Engineer and Assistant Case Officer Waldon Russell will present a case study on the “implementation of an automated spectrum monitoring metropolitan area network”. Other presenters from The Bahamas will include Water and Sewerage Corporation General Manager Glen Laville and Cable Bahamas Limited Associate Counsel Nicole Watkins. They will be joined by experts from a range of fields in utility regulation.