The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) from the USA will implement a partnership program with the National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE) from R. Moldova, with the participation of the Public Service Commission from Missouri, USA , the latter acting as an institution of initiative in this partnership.  This clause is prescribed in the Memorandum of Understanding between NARUC, Public Service Commission from Missouri and ANRE, signed on Tuesday, June 22 in Chisinau.   The document shows that the partnership program is implemented under the auspices of the Cooperation Agreement between NARUC and US Agency for International Development (USAID) that provides funding for this program.  

The memorandum was signed by Victor Parlicov, Director General of ANRE, Robert Kenney, Commissioner of the Missouri Public Service Commission, Jargalan Jambaldorj, program manager of NARUC and Dianne Tsitsos, Director of USAID Mission in the R. Moldova.   

After signing the memorandum, Victor Parlicov thanked the American side for support and assistance to our country through a new partnership program with ANRE. He said the program will help professionals to learn and apply the best regulatory practices of the Missouri authority, a factor that will contribute to more efficient energy sector regulation in the R. Moldova.

The NARUC representative, Jargalan Jambaldorj, expressed his confidence that the partnership program will foster exchange of experience between the regulators of two countries, underlining that this exchange is necessary and useful for both parties. In his turn, the commissioner of the Missouri Public Service Commission, Robert Kenney, said that although the authority he represented has been operating for nearly 100 years, it is ready, in this partnership, not only to share experience, but also learn new things from their colleagues from R. Moldova. Director of USAID Mission in the R. Moldova, Dianne Tsitsos, expressed satisfaction with the fact that USAID will have a program that will support the cooperation of regulators from both countries, in order to make the regulatory process in the energy sector of R. Moldova more efficient. 

According to the memorandum, the partnership program is a tool for exchanging experience and information between regulators in both countries, designed to improve the regulatory practices and establish long-lasting relationships between them. The program is scheduled for two years.

The first activities of the partnership program are taking place in Chisinau this week.  By Friday, June 25, the American guests and ANRE representatives will be making presentations and exchanging information on many issues of energy sector regulation in Missouri and R. Moldova. At the end of the first round of meetings, both sides will formulate and discuss proposals for organization of the following activities under the partnership program.
  

ANRE Press Service
                                                                      June 23, 2010