Indiana Utility Authority Signs Partnership Agreement with Albanian Electricity Authority
USAID-Funded Program Will Assist Albanians in Restructuring Energy Sector
January 17, 2003
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Electricity Regulatory Authority of Albania
(ERE) and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) today signed
a memorandum of understanding cementing a partnership designed to aid
Albania in restructuring and reforming its energy sector. The agreement,
which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
and implemented by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners
(NARUC), was officially signed in a ceremony at the Albanian Embassy in
Washington.
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| From left to right: Dr. Robert Ichord (USAID), Chairman William McCarty (IURC), Executive Director Charles Gray (NARUC), Chairman Cuci (ERE), and Ambassador Fatos Tarifa. (Photo Courtesy of NARUC) |
This agreement helps to build the relationship between the Indiana commission
and the Albanians which started in 2002 when the Chairman of the IURC,
William McCarty, led a delegation of senior IURC staff to the Albanian
capital of Tirana. The Albanian delegation participating in the ceremony
today has been in the U.S. since January 11 to meet with IURC officials
in Indianapolis for a series of meetings with IURC officials on Indiana
state and U.S. regulatory practices, presentations on the Albanian authorities’
restructuring program, and meetings with the Indiana Governor and a delegation
of Indiana State Senators.
“This cooperation is essential in enabling Albania to develop and
implement a national energy policy and strategic plan, and in focusing
other donor efforts on supporting more comprehensive sector reform,”
said Robert Ichord, Chief of the Energy and Infrastructure Division of
USAID’s Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, during the signing ceremony.
“This work is not only a priority for Albania's economic and social
development but is also a key link in the new electricity market initiatives
being implemented in southeastern Europe.”
This program is part of the support USAID is providing to Albania's energy
sector reforms as a key priority of the U.S. and E.U. strategy to develop
a regional electricity market in southeastern Europe. The development
of such a regional market is essential to the economic development and
stability of the region as well as to furthering the region's integration
with other European energy networks.
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