The tenth annual conference of the Organisation of Caribbean Utility Regulators (OOCUR) was hosted in The Bahamas by the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA). Held last week over the three-day November 7th – 9th period, the conference attracted 73 participants from countries throughout the Caribbean, as well as the United States, the United Kingdom, Ghana and Nigeria.
The theme for the tenth conference was “Utility Regulation in the Caribbean: A case for Harmonisation of Approaches to Regulation”. Conference papers covered a range of subject areas related to the regulation of telecommunications and information and communications technologies, electricity, water and waste water; and subject broader subject areas related to institutional frameworks and stakeholders interests.
Presentations of conference papers may be downloaded via the below posted links.
July of this year also marked the Organisation’s tenth anniversary. Organisers therefore used the occasion of the annual conference, to celebrate its member countries with special recognition of founding members; and also honoured individual contributions of key persons to OOCUR’s development. Bahamians included among those honourees were, Peter Bethel, former Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) which preceded URCA, from 2000 – 2005 – Mr. Bethel was one of the original signatories on OOCUR’s founding documents – Mr. George Moss, who was the PUC’s Chairman from 2005 to 2007; and Mr. Michael Symonette who was the PUC’s Executive Director and later URCA CEO following the 2009 transition from PUC to URCA.
The conference was held in Freeport, Grand Bahama, at the Grand Lucayan Resort. The conference was officially opened by Minister of State for Investments in the Office of The Prime Minister, the Hon. Khaalis Rolle.