El papel de los reguladores en los nuevos mercados de la energía

Many countries have established regulatory agencies at the time of opening their electricity and gas markets to competition. While there are many country specific aspects to regulatory institutions, most regulatory agencies share a number of common elements regarding their scope, functions, decision-making structure and independence safeguards. This common blueprint is identified and discussed. The study also finds that institutional differences are related to the regulatory framework adopted in each country. For instance, regulatory agencies have more powers in countries where restructuring and unbundling policies are in place. There is thus a basic consistency between regulators and regulation. Finally, the paper discusses some open issues in the design of regulatory institutions such as the degree and meaning of regulatory independence, and the need for a government-wide approach to address the growing complexity of the institutional framework.