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The Chairman of the Public Services Regulatory Commission of Armenia (PSRC) Robert Nazaryan, the Chairman of the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB, USA) Robert Berntsen, and Manager of International Programs at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC, USA) Chris Mahon signed a Memorandum of Understanding on regulating the sphere of energy.

During the signing ceremony R. Nazaryan said this is the fourth memorandum signed with the US side. Such documents have already been signed with Washington, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and they have been actively cooperating with them for about 13 years.

Through the Energy Regulation Partnership Program, a regional project implemented through NARUC, USAID is engaged in a partnership to share experience and information between the PSRC and the IUB while fostering professional links between both agencies. This partnership will allow the Armenian regulators to have broad access to the U.S. regulatory environment and enable the IUB members to learn new techniques and methodologies as well as gain an understanding of the regulatory practices in the broader Caucasus region.

The Memorandum of Understanding signing event formalizes the partnership, and as such it is an important part of the introductory four-day workshop, held from June 14-17, 2010 in Yerevan.

The workshop will focus on broad fundamentals of regulation, such as authority, autonomy, accountability, structure, and capacities. Additionally, the delegates will discuss tariff design, building and sustaining relationships among sector stakeholders, public participation in the regulatory process, demand side management, and other timely issues. The partners will also prepare a fluid work plan which will identify additional topics of mutual interest, and will be updated periodically to reflect the changing environment of the energy regulation and legislation in both countries.