The fit for 55 package has now fully arrived on the political stage and 2022 is the year for turning ambition into game changing legislation. The European power sector has long accepted its role as a key enabler for the accelerated ambition but continues to call for a policy framework which unlocks significantly increased investments in generation and infrastructure.
Never before has the curve been so steep, the urgency to act decisively so strong. Yet, the conditions for action are challenging. Energy price spikes cause governments to interfere with the market, value chains are challenged across Europe and political debates on the right policy levers are fierce.
This opening plenary session will provide a deep insight by top level policy makers and industry leaders into the key questions on the transition, setting the stage for two days for in-depth exchanges on the most critical topics affecting the power sector and its partners:
Seven years ago, the Clean Energy Package for all Europeans proposed a definition of renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non-biological origin – in other words, a first definition for renewable hydrogen. Since then, public and private stakeholders have intensively discussed the role for hydrogen to reach the European objective of carbon neutrality by 2050. Today, the European Commission is developing a regulatory framework for the development of hydrogen market and infrastructure. Therefore, the debate on the role of hydrogen in the European economy is reaching a certain level of maturity but the views on its use in the hard to abate sectors remains challenged.
Since this summer, Europe has been experiencing rising wholesale electricity prices mainly caused by the increase of global natural gas prices. This has in turn raised sharp concerns among customers and triggered political debate across the continent. Affordability is a key precondition to ensure customers’ engagement in the energy transition and hence making the decarbonization a reality.
In particular, this electricity price surge triggered questions around the efficiency of electricity market and whether some adjustments, improvements at wholesale and retail level would be needed to make it fit for the energy transition.
This Power Talk Session will take stock of the state of play of discussions around electricity prices and market design at EU level and discuss how the power sector can actively contribute to this debate.
Digitalisation enables European power networks to become more connected, intelligent, efficient, reliable and sustainable, while inevitably changing how we supply, purchase and interact with electricity. Data collection and exchanges are growing exponentially, creating digital threats but also valuable opportunities for the power sector. In this rapidly evolving context, the ‘Data empowering the Electric Decade’ Power Talk at Eurelectric’s Power Summit will foster a discussion about the implications of Europe’s digital energy revolution, the new business models needed to make the best of it, and the policy frameworks required to facilitate these developments.
This workshop intends to explore:
The paradigm of “either / or” is broken. Instead of acquiescing to division, we propose a VISION where biodiversity protection and achieving ambitious climate and energy objectives go hand in hand and are mutually reinforcing. To tackle a multifaceted problem, we go beyond silos thinking, we reveal the best practices across Europe that build bridges across biodiversity, agriculture, funding, energy, data and economy, by building a community of supporting stakeholders from different sectors in the process.
Join us to:
Eurelectric’s landmark study “Connecting the Dots” has identified that €375-425 billion of investments are needed to make the distribution grids fit-for-purpose in an increasingly decarbonised, decentralised and digitalised power system. While the study focuses on where the investments need to take place and what the main drivers are, it remains open under which forms the investment can take place as DSOs have a wide range of options to solve congestions (network tariff design, grid reconfiguration, tradition reinforcement, flexibility procurement etc.). The feasibility and cost-effectiveness of each option shall be carefully considered and compared to each other in the final investment’s decision.
The combination of changing climate conditions, including more frequent and intense extreme weather, and a growing significance of electricity through the clean energy transition, makes ensuring power sector resiliency and the hardening of infrastructure an essential must. As these changes are occurring, the industry needs to plan for resource adequacy that will make power supply more resilient to significant disruptions of supply whether they are the result of weather, cyber or physically attacks or multi-factor events. Utilities, regulators, and policymakers will discuss their insights about the future power system and the environment in which it will operate to identify critical resiliency and adaptation investments, and importantly, with an adequate regulatory framework to be created for necessary investment decisions.
The closing session will feature a discussion by industry leaders on the future of the sector, the challenges ahead, and the game-changing technologies at our disposal. Moderated by journalist Laura Shields, this concluding event will outline how the entire sector needs to raise its game in the race to clean energy and a net-zero future.
Because sustainable change requires a clear strategy.
The Power Summit, our award-winning annual conference, is where leaders of the European power sector and top decision-makers come together to exchange ideas and discuss the game-changing solutions needed for policy, technology, finance, and people. In June 2022, Heads of State, Commissioners, CEOs, and civil society joined us to debate the game-changing strategies vital for the energy transition and to discover how we can accelerate the Electric Decade together.
The game has changed. Time to change the rules. And play for our energy future.
