RPI Annual Competition and Regulation Conference 2026

Due to high demand, the RPI now has very few accommodation spaces remaining, and any spaces that open up will be first-come, first-served. Because of this, the RPI would advise seeking alternative accommodation in Oxford if required for the night of the 14th. If there are any issues with your request for accommodation, the RPI will email you immediately to follow-up.
Do you have any additional needs/requests, or wish to be added to the accommodation waitlist? Please note down here your requests, and will do our best to facilitate them.

Update – 1/09/2026 – 9:00am: Registration for the RPI Annual Competition and Regulation Conference is now closed. The form above is still open and submissions are monitored, in the case of last minute registration enquiries, but the RPI cannot guarantee your registration will be successful. If you have any further questions, please email seminars@rpieurope.org for further information.

Following on from the success of the RPI’s Annual Conference 2025, the RPI Annual Competition and Regulation Conference 2026 will take place on the 14th and 15th of September 2026, at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. 

Conference will take place at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, with registration opening from 1:00pm on Monday 14th September and finishing at 3:30pm on Tuesday 15th September. With the theme “Regulatory Incoherence”, this year’s RPI Annual Competition and Regulation Conference includes a diverse selection of panels, investigating multiple important questions in regulatory economics, political economy, and policy. Amongst these are “The Future of Rail Regulation”, “The Challenge of Coherently Regulating the Energy Sector in an Incoherent World”, and “The Role of Regulation: An Opportunity to Reset”, as well as other panels to be announced. For further information regarding Conference, including the speakers, registration price, and other important information, please toggle the tabs below.

If you wish to register for Conference and haven’t already done so, please fill out the form above, after which you will receive an instant email confirming receipt of your registration. After registering, if attending not as a RPI Corporate or Public Body Member, you will receive an invoice which will be sent to you within 5 working days (payable within 21 days of it being sent). Please ensure you note any dietary or accessibility requirements in the appropriate text box, to ensure we can accommodate your needs.

The traditional RPI keynote Zeeman Lecture will be given by Cathryn Ross, (Strategy and External Affairs Director, Thames Water), titled “Reinventing regulation: time for (another) paradigm shift?”. An expert in addressing challenging regulatory environments, Cathryn has been Strategy and External Affairs Director at Thames Water since 2021. She was previously Group Regulatory Affairs Director at BT Group, leading on regulatory matters in the UK and internationally, and Chief Executive of Ofwat, where she led a new strategy, the 2014 price review and preparations to open the non-household retail market to competition.

In her Zeeman lecture, Cathryn Ross will explore the current pressures from outside and within the economic regulatory landscape in the UK, whether and how ‘regulation UK-style’ can successfully adapt to them. In doing so, she will draw extensively on the current debate about regulatory reform in water, looking across all the tools in the regulatory tool kit, and will draw out some of the risks, opportunities and issues that read across to other sectors. Cathryn aims to conclude with some constructive thoughts on potential paths forward. 

Outside of our Zeeman Lecture, we are assembling a diverse and distinguished group of speakers, senior leaders and thinkers in industry, regulation and academia, including:
  • Will Godfrey, Director – Economics, Finance, & Markets, Office of Rail and Road (ORR),
  • Andrew Dench, Director and Head of Asset Management, GIC,
  • Maggie Simpson OBE, Director General, Rail Freight Group,
  • Akshay Kaul, Director General – Infrastructure, Ofgem,
  • Paul McMahon, Director – Planning & Regulation, Network Rail,
  • Eleanor Mack, Director, Fingleton,
  • George Yarrow, Director, Regulatory Policy Institute,
  • Hannah Nixon, Chair, SSRO,
  • George Anstey, Senior Manging Director, NERA,
  • Douglas McWilliams, Founder, Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR),
  • Sarah Heald, Chief Strategy & Regulatory Affairs Officer, Pennon Group,
  • Tony Ballance, Chief Strategy & Regulation Officer, Cadent Gas,
  • Chris Decker, Associate Fellow, University of Oxford,
  • David Stewart, Partner, Towerhouse.
  • Stephen Gibson, Chair, Regulatory Policy Committee
  • Ben Golding, Director, DESNZ – Clean Power 2030,
  • Alex Williams, Deputy Director – Competition and Consumer Policy, Department of Business, Innovation, Science and Technology (DBIST)

With others to be announced on a rolling basis.

This year’s Conference is competitively priced, with the cost of a standard ticket at £400+VAT, and a special concessionary rate of £200+VAT for students, retirees, and those who have RPI Individual Membership. Accommodation is also available at the college (provided by Lady Margaret Hall), provided at cost price of £98.75+VAT. Included with your Conference registration is the invitation to join for the Distinguished Fellows Dinner, the traditional RPI college dinner on the first night open to all Conference attendees, as well as lunch on Day 2 of Conference.
 
If seeking either the RPI Individual Member discount, or looking to register multiple people for your institution, consider purchasing membership of the RPI by enquiring here. Most of these packages come with included Conference tickets, along with the other benefits and advantages that come with RPI Membership such as guaranteed spaces at our other events and the opportunity to help shape the direction of the RPI.
 
Due to restrictions at the venue, the RPI cannot guarantee parking spaces for attendees. We suggest that attendees use either the Oxford Park & Ride service, or the public transport in Oxford to attend the Conference.

If you have any further questions or queries, please email seminars@rpieurope.org for a speedy response.

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