This is the season to enjoy the warmth of our loved ones and reflect on the achievements and challenges of the year that just passed. MEDREG's President, Mr Petrit Ahmeti, would like to share with you his wishes and his year-end analysis for this 2020.

READ THE MESSAGE

--- 2020: A year of transitions ---

The 40th Steering Committee met to assess the advancement of MEDREG’s activities and direct the roadmap for the remaining months of 2020. They also set sights to the coming activities for 2021 in line with the implementation of the Action Plan. 
 
Additionally, the 30th General Assembly of MEDREG was celebrated on 25 November 2020 via online conference to elect the new Presidency Board and Working Groups’ Chairmanship until 2022. In this instance, the Albanian Energy Regulator ERE took on the MEDREG Presidency with the election of Mr Petrit Ahmeti, who acted as MEDREG Vice-President in his former mandate. 
 
Check the YouTube playlist containing the interviews to the new members of the Presidency Board to learn more about their stance and perspective for MEDREG this next term 2020-2022. The video playlist contains also a message from former President Gülefsan Demirbas, who tells us about her legacy and how EMRA intends to continue supporting the Association over time.

The meeting also provided updates on the advancement of the Association’s activities and the direction of the next steps for the last months of 2020, as well as the way forward for the next two years. The Association gave support to its overarching Action Plan 2021-2022 in order to advance in key areas of energy regulation in the region by developing more efficient and compatible regulatory frameworks and by fostering cooperation, information exchange and assistance among its Members.

"Empowering Mediterranean Regulators for a common energy future"

The years 2018-2020 have been very productive for MEDREG. The Association has upscaled significantly the scope and reach of its activities, including the increase in the number of members involved in the technical activities of each Working Group, the growth in the support provided to countries of the Southern neighbourhood, as well as the widening of the variety and the topics of the actions implemented. Communication activities were also intensified, as did their success and the level of audience engagement.

You can view the Associations' achievements in the infographic "Empowering Mediterranean Regulators for a common energy future”

Training on the Role and Scope of Regulation

To do so, the course presented the fundamentals of energy economics both in the gas and electricity markets and related them to the different duties and tools of regulators, with the goal to unravel the complex relationship between regulation and the management of energy markets. The course balanced theory with practical case studies presented directly by decision-makers involved, including energy regulators, academics and professionals from energy companies.

Working Group’s continue their effort to achieve the objectives for 2020

The 28th Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency Working Group (RES WG) and 29th Institutional Working Group (INS WG) meetings were celebrated to discuss the remaining activities planned for 2020. The RES WG assessed the new report “Regulatory Options for the Integration of RES” and discussed the collaboration with RES4MED organization. Additionally, the INS WG members delivered the report “Regulatory Outlook” where they looked over the technical support provided to Members during 2020, and also provided further information on the Action Plan 2021-2022.

9th High-Level Meeting of Regional Associations of Emerging Markets

On December 16^th the Energy Regulators Regional Association (ERRA) organized an online meeting that was hosted by MEDREG. The main purpose of this event was to offer a high-level exchange platform for regulators that represent emerging economies. In this way, it served to develop cooperation and exchange the experiences in the different areas of energy regulation. The meeting dealt with the regulatory implications of the pandemic, as well as the impact it has had on the regulatory associations. Among the topics discussed, the role of gas in fostering energy transition and the role of mini-grids in supporting access to energy in developing countries were particularly relevant.

--- We have been part of ---

MEDREG believes cooperation is key to achieve regional integration in the Mediterranean, therefore the association has been part of many initiatives these past months, including:

"Progress of Power and Renewable Energy Market in Egypt.” RES4Africa Foundation organised an online event on November 5th, in which MEDREG participated, with other important stakeholders of the region, to address the investment opportunities and challenges of this sector.
 

“Offshore Power Grid Potential in the Mediterranean Region.” Guidehouse celebrated on November 12th the concluding conference of the study and technical assistance to the European Commission on offshore grid concepts for the Mediterranean Sea. MEDREG was part of this webinar as a presenter addressing the potential for RES and other key concepts related to this particular sector. 
 

“A stronger integration of electricity grids of both shores of the Mediterranean: opportunities, challenges and concrete ways to progress.” Our former president Gülefsan Demirbas joined Med-TSO Mediterranean Project 2 Discussion Panel. She analysed the market integration in the zone of the Mediterranean in order to enable the Energy Transition and portrayed how MEDREG supports this issue through its five main pillars.

--- Join the team ---

2021 will be full of great initiatives, starting by the release of the eight reports of our Working Groups that the General Assembly has already approved. Stay tuned to our network to find out more about the new things to come.