Jaipur, Apr 28 (KNN) Absence of political interference is resulting in to the success of Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission, said Vishvanath Hiremath, Chairman, Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission.

CUTS International, in association with South Asia Forum for Infrastructure Regulation (SAFIR), conducted the 16th Core Course 5-day training programme on Infrastructure Regulation in Jaipur today.

Hiremath was invited as keynote speaker to share his view and experience on the future of infrastructure regulations in South Asia.

He said, “The best part of my service is that I have worked on all sides of the electricity sector. I am aware of the sector pains from the root level. Balancing the interests among the stakeholders is a difficult exercise. We have to ensure that while balancing, the sector should also grow. The SAFIR forum is a unique platform that works in creating a positive environment in South Asia. I congratulate CUTS International for organizing this training programme that will surely add value to the participating regulators’ work profile.”

George Cheriyan, Director, CUTS International spoke about the importance of involvement of consumers in regulatory decision making. While many regulators have been proactive in ensuring consumer participation, more efforts are required to involve consumers in the infrastructure regulatory mechanism to create effective and transparent regulatory process.

The 5-day programme, comprised of officials representing infrastructure regulatory commissions from various states in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka; entailed interactive sessions conducted by various experts on subjects on regulations & competition, building incentive regulations, role of South Asian regulators in electricity trade, etc.

The programme delved into the need and importance of introducing various reforms for better regulation-making, understanding the importance of regulations and competition in infrastructure sector; need for ownership; regulatory and competition impact assessment; and ways to ensure consumer protection in regulatory reforms in the infrastructure sector.

The training programme was attended by close to 25 participants from energy and infrastructure regulators from South Asian region.