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Cayman Islands Ministry of Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure Establisment Of The “Utility Regulation And Competition Office”

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  • URCO with clear unambiguous powers to effectively and independently discharge its regulatory duties while ensuring that it must act transparently and impartially;
  • URCO with clear and unambiguous consumer protection functions;
  • for URCO to be concerned with facilitating economic development (consistent with Government’s policies) in the sectors for which it has responsibility; and
  • for the URCO to promote innovation in the sectors for which it has responsibility as enablers for national development.
  • A new law, the Utility Regulation and Competition Law, which establishes URCO as the multi-sector regulator, setting out its broad functions, governance and administrative arrangements
  • Amendments to the       ICTA law – to replace ICTA with URCO as the regulator for the ICT sector and other consequential amendments
  • Amendments to the ERA law – to replaces ERA with URCO as the electricity sector regulator and other consequential amendments
  • A new law – to give effect to the new arrangements which transfers the economic regulatory functions from the Water Authority to URCO       and other consequential provisions including the role and functions of the URCO in that sector.
  • Consequential amendments to the Water Authority Law will be necessary to repeal the economic regulatory functions of the Authority
  • Consequential amendments to the Water (Production and Supply) Law, the Wastewater Collection and Treatment Law providing for the URCO to issue licences consequent on the grant of concessions by the Government
  • A new law addressing the operation of the Fuel market including the role and functions of URCO in that market
  • Amendments to the Dangerous Substances Handling and Storage Law (DSHSL) bringing the operations of the Chief Petroleum Inspectorate under URCO
  1. To promote objectives set out in any Policy in relation to the markets and sectors for which it has responsibility;
  2. To promote fair and effective competition;
  3. To protect the interests of consumers and in so doing -

    supervise, monitor and regulate any sectoral utility, in accordance with this Law, the regulations, and sectoral legislation and any general policies made by Cabinet in writing;
    ensure that utility services are satisfactory and efficient and that charges imposed in respect of utility services are reasonable and reflect the efficient costs of providing the services; and

  • publish information, reports and other documents relating to utility services and the markets and sectors for which it has responsibility; and
  1. To promote innovation facilitate economic and national development in the markets and sectors for which it has responsibility.

Published September 12, 2016

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