The Governance of Maintenance and Investment in Infrastructures

When setting the structure and level of charges, as well as the performance objectives, regulators only have limited information on the conditions and cost drivers of the assets managed by the operators they regulate. In particular, regulators might lack information about the actual quality of these assets, about the investments which are necessary to maintain or modernize them, about the constraints of deployment and funding of the required investments, about the costs to be born to accommodate evolutions of public policies, and about the optimal adaptation to technological changes. Moreover, the relevant constraints and requirements for capital expenditure may not necessarily be aligned with regulatory periods.

This conference will focus on the complex issues raised by the governance of the relationship between the operators, the economic regulator and the public authorities. Under which conditions could more relevant information be generated and shared among these parties? How should the regulated entities, as well as the customers be involved? What is the potential of digital technologies, big data and artificial intelligence in that framework? Should the relationship between the regulator and the operators be based on on-going negotiations between the two, especially to accommodate evolutions in their environment? Should regulators be involved in the discussions about planning arrangements, investment programs, and performance objectives?

The event will gather regulators, operators, and infrastructure experts from different industries and countries to review specific and innovative practices, compare their approaches and discuss potential best practices to govern the long-term quality and evolution of infrastructures. In particular, one session will focus on the case of railways. In the other session, cases from the energy, water, city planning, and telecommunication sectors will be dealt with to analyze how information sharing and coordination in planning can be better achieved among the regulation stakeholders.

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS

• Bryan ADEY | Professor, ETH Zürich
• Jean-François DUCOING | Directeur de la régulation, SNCF Réseau 
• Annegret GROEBEL | Head of Department, International Relations & Postal Regulation, Bundesnetzagentur
• Michelle GROVES | CEO, Australian Energy Regulator
• Issao HIRATA | Energy specialist, Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica
• Richard HOME | Executive General Manager – Legal & Economic Division, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission
• Dominique JAMME | Special Advisor to the President, Commission de Régulation de l’Energie
• Brian KOGAN | Deputy Director, Strategy and Policy - Office of Rail and Road
• Michael ROBSON | Managing Director, International Rail Transport Consultancy
• Alan SUTHERLAND | CEO, Water Industry Commission for Scotland
• Matthew WITTENSTEIN | Senior Electricity Analyst, International Energy Agency

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Organised by the Club of Regulators in cooperation with the OECD Network of Economic Regulators