The Evaluation of Energy Regulator's Structure in Iran Applying Benchmarking

Regulation is of special significance for countries due to strategic importance of energy sector. So, to address this issue, energy regulators have been established in many countries. This article responds to the question of what entity/entities can carry out energy regulatory functions, what are their legal statuses, and what are their corresponding responsibilities, and whether energy regulation is carried out by an individual regulator or multi-sector regulator. To respond the questions, energy regulators of some countries are studied, and, according to the results, and taking the presumption that the existence of the required legal infrastructure for establishment of energy regulator/s in Iran, some scenarios for appropriate legal status of energy regulators are proposed.