Fsr Energy & Climate

Energy poverty is a widespread and even growing reality across Europe. The EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU SILC) measured in 2013 shows that 10.7% of the population (approximately 54 million people) are unable to afford basic levels of energy for essential needs. Listen to Prof Pippo Ranci from FSR, and Prof Stefan Bouzarovski from Manchester University discuss; some of the EU energy poverty initiatives, challenges and ways to put the topic of energy poverty at the centre of energy policy discussions.

In the context of the public workshop held on 20 June in Brussels, Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) poses several questions to Miguel Pardo (Endesa) about the pilot project being carried out in Barcelona. Vodafone, which is among the several partners involved, owns 20 radio base stations that are used as distributed energy resources (DER). Such stations participate in a simulated local market and provide ancillary services for the efficient and secure functioning of the electricity system. According to Mr Pardo, the pilot is proving the feasibility of the concept proposed. At the same time, Vodafone is showing interest in continuing the cooperation and applying the same business model on a broader scale. Final results of the pilot will be available in the coming months. More information on the SmartNet Project can be found at: http://smartnet-project.eu/.

In the context of the public workshop held on 20 June in Brussels, Athir Nouicer (FSR) interviewed Dr. Tomás Gómez San Román, Professor at Comillas Pontifical University, about the impacts of the SmartNet project on the future of electricity markets. SmartNet has three pilot projects (in Italy, Denmark and Spain) that address technical issues related to system operation and test the different TSO/DSO coordination schemes, which can be hard to assess even for regulators. Dr. Tomás Gómez highlighted the need to improve TSO/DSO cooperation to ease access to flexibility services located in distribution grids, and emphasised the challenges of integrating market and networks models in these kinds of research projects. The added value of the SmartNet project is providing insights for the development of a legal framework in Europe. More information on the SmartNet Project can be found at: http://smartnet-project.eu/.

Before the start of the SmartNet workshop in Brussels on the 20 June, Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) had the opportunity to talk with Gianluigi Migliavacca (RSE) about the importance of the project and the insights that it is expected to provide to policy-makers, regulators, network companies, and market players. SmartNet is testing different coordination mechanisms for the efficient and secure management of distributed energy resources as providers of ancillary services to the electricity system. Three pilot projects are underway, respectively in Italy, Spain and Denmark, with the involvement of TSOs, DSOs, aggregators, research institutes, energy consumers, etc. Next October, detailed results on the pilot projects and the research promoted within SmartNet will be presented in Florence. More information on the SmartNet Project can be found at: http://smartnet-project.eu/.

Listen to our interview with Tony Imaduwa, CEO of Seychelles Energy Commission, conducted during the first Regional Forum on Sustainable Energy in Mauritius from May 28-30, 2018. Tony discusses the role of the Seychelles Energy Commission, the regulatory challenges that are hindering the energy transition, and the measures that have been introduced to address these challenges.

Listen to our interview with Laurent Sam, Engineer at Public Utilities Corporation (PUC), Seychelles, at the first Regional Forum of on Sustainable Energy at Mauritius from May 28-30, 2018. Laurent discusses the key challenges such as resource mapping, renewable energy planning, grid management and efficient use of funding while integrating renewables into the power system. visit the Florence School of Regulation website: fsr.eui.eu

In the context of the public workshop held on 20 June in Brussels, Athir Nouicer (FSR) interviewed Helena Gerard, Senior Researcher at VITO/EnergyVille, for insight on the five TSO-DSO coordination schemes analysed by the SmartNet Project. A Horizon 2020 funded project, SmartNet attempts to find answers and propose new practical solutions to the integration of growing renewable energy sources (RES) in the existing European electricity network. The project aims to provide optimised instruments and modalities to improve the coordination between grid operators at national and local level, and to advance the exchange of information for monitoring the acquisition of ancillary services from resources located in the distribution grids. With the development of renewables and the electrification of energy end-uses, the electricity system requires more flexibility. At the same time, more flexible resources are available at the local level. As argued in the interview, a smart allocation of these flexibility resources b

In the context of the public workshop held on 20 June in Brussels, N. Rossetto (FSR) interviewed SmartNet team member H. Madsen (DTU) to discuss the importance and impact of SmartNet pilot project B. The pilot is based in Denmark, where the abundance of wind energy requires a smart approach to achieve decarbonisation of the power sector efficiently. In such a context, the electricity load from final customers must contribute and provide flexibility to the system. As a part of the pilot, the heated swimming pools of thirty summerhouses are managed so that they can provide ancillary services when the electricity grid faces difficulties in dealing with renewable production. Active participation of the demand side is key to foster the energy transition and can lead to significant savings for the final customer. However, in order for this to happen, policy-makers and regulators need to act: smart behaviours by network operators and market actors may not materialise without proper network tariffs and energy taxat

In this podcast, Panagiotis Tsangaris, alumnus of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, discusses the competition law and regulation issues that arise as a result of capacity withdrawals in the electricity wholesale markets, exploring the application of Article 102 TFEU and the terms of Regulation 1227/2011 (REMIT). visit the Florence School of Regulation website: fsr.eui.eu In electricity wholesale markets, market power is mainly exercised either by withdrawing generation capacity (physical withdrawal) or by pricing it above competitive levels (economic withdrawal) in order to achieve a higher market price and, thereby, increase revenue. Inevitably, capacity withdrawal practices can be damaging for both the market and consumers. Thus, the ability of competent authorities to intervene against practices of physical and economic withholding of capacity is crucial. As with any other form of market abuse, the physical and economic withholding of capacity is subject to the application of compe

Malagasy regulator's view on the electrification and clean energy transition in Madagascar. Listen to our interview with Ms Ketakandriana Rabemananjara, Director (Legal) of Office de Régulation de l'Electricité (ORE), Madagascar, at the first Regional Forum of on Sustainable Energy at Mauritius from May 28-30, 2018. Ms Ketakandriana discussed the dual challenge of electrifying while transitioning to a clean energy system. In particular how the regulator can play an active role in helping to step up the implementation.

Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) and Thierry Lepercq (Engie) discuss the way Engie, a major European energy company, is dealing with the series of disruptions that are affecting the energy business, both electricity and gas. Engie is navigating through the changes in Europe and beyond, and has decided to sell or close some of its less profitable assets in power generation. At the same time, Engie is looking towards the future by investing in renewables. According to Mr Lepercq the future is the exploitation of solar energy in prime locations around the world, like Chile or Australia, to produce hydrogen and then deliver it to Europe at a final cost that is in line with that of liquefied natural gas. This could possibly contribute to the decarbonisation of the gas sector, safeguarding the European gas grid form becoming a stranded asset. Hydrogen could then be used for district heating and power generation, solving the issue of the intermittency and seasonality of most renewables. A 100% renewable future would become muc

In the framework of the 7th World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER), ICER Women in Energy and FSR teamed up to ‘give a voice’ to women professionals actively contributing to the event. In this podcast, Swetha Bhagwat (FSR) interviews Ifey Ikeonu, a successful energy policy and regulation consultant with over 25 years of experience. Ms Ikeonu discusses her role in various power sector reform programmes, highlighting the main pioneering efforts put in place to establish the regulatory framework for the electricity market of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Prior to her current position, she helped found the Nigerian Energy Regulatory Commission and was one of the first commissioners for ECOWAS. The ECOWAS region is low on access to energy but it is high on innovation and motivation. In this podcast Ifey discusses her career path and explains the importance of innovation and regulatory framework in the energy sector in order to attract investment to help build the sector. Later in the

In the framework of the 7th World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER), ICER Women in Energy and FSR teamed up to ‘give a voice’ to women professionals actively contributing to the event. Diane X. Burman serves as a Commissioner of the New York State Public Service Commission, which regulates the state’s electric, gas, steam, telecommunications, and water utilities. The Commission focuses on the provision of safe, reliable and affordable services across all sectors, working with both industry and consumers to ensure that regulations are effective, flexible and fluid to adapt to the changes and challenges faced by those sectors. In this podcast, Diane and Swetha discuss the ways women from different professional, economic and cultural backgrounds find innovative ways to work towards greater access to energy. According to Diane, women working in energy, although still underrepresented, are changing the energy sector with their versatility, wealth of diverse knowledge and solution-driven mindsets. She explains tha

In the framework of the 7th World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER), ICER Women in Energy and FSR teamed up to ‘give a voice’ to women professionals actively contributing to the event. Annegret Groebel is Vice-President at CEER and Head of the International Relations Department at BNetzA, Germany’s multisector regulatory authority. In this podcast, she sheds light on BNetzA’s approach and discusses the main similarities and differences when it comes to a ‘multisector regulation’. Network industries under the supervision of BNetzA share similar cost structures and face the problem of recovering sunk costs. The challenge for regulators is then to assess those costs and ensure an adequate structure and level of the network tariff paid by network users. However, regulators like BNetzA play a role also in ensuring the integrity and transparency of the wholesale markets, as mandated in the EU by REMIT. As a concluding remark, Ms Groebel stresses the importance of looking at the regulatory experience of other co

In the framework of the 7th World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER), ICER Women in Energy and FSR teamed up to ‘give a voice’ to women professionals actively contributing to the event. Christina Espinosa is founder and CEO of GenteGas, a social enterprise in Guatemala, helping local households reducing the entry costs of modern and clean gas stoves and fuels. By easing access to clean cooking facilities and LPG, fostering education and raising public awareness, GenteGas aims to eradicate families’ exposure to indoor air pollution and the related health problems. In this podcast, Christina explains her leading motivations in founding GenteGas; she also provides an interesting analysis of the local context and the main challenges that led to the development of an ecosystem approach within GenteGas. As a concluding remark, Ms Espinosa highlights the importance of educating and informing households and communities: a full understanding of the energy sources and technologies available is essential for the adop

In the framework of the 7th World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER), ICER Women in Energy and FSR teamed up to ‘give a voice’ to women professionals actively contributing to the event. Patricia de Suzzoni is currently the Advisor to the President at CRE, the French regulatory authority. As Patricia has filled so many different roles in the energy and telecom sectors, we asked her about the main challenges, as well as opportunities, she faced while transitioning from industry to the public sector. After giving some insight on her experiences, Patricia discusses the similarities between the regulation of energy and the regulation of telecoms and highlights the lessons that can be learned, given that the two sectors are increasingly facing the same challenges. (e.g. data privacy and cybersecurity) Check out more podcasts like this one and learn more about the Lights on Women Initiative here: medium.com/lights-on-women/

In the framework of the 7th World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER), ICER Women in Energy and FSR teamed up to ‘give a voice’ to women professionals actively contributing to the event. Marie-Pierre Fauconnier is President of the Board of Directors at CREG and Vice President of CEER. During the interview with Swetha Bhagwat (FSR), her first remark highlighted how the role of women has changed in the energy sector: 25 years ago, they were very few, while today, although still a clear minority, they are gaining more and more space and responsibilities. According to Ms. Fauconnier, the two biggest challenges the energy sector will be facing in the upcoming future are the integration of RES in the energy mix and the impact of digitalisation and new technologies. These “novelties” generate both opportunities and threats. It is crucial for energy regulators to ensure that ‘every customer is onboard’ so that no one is left behind. Digitalisation and the speedy adoption of fast-changing technologies are challenging

In the framework of the 7th World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER), ICER Women in Energy and FSR teamed up to ‘give a voice’ to women professionals actively contributing to the event Bevan Flansburg is the Deputy Director in the International Department at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). In this podcast, Bevan and Swetha start off by discussing sustainable energy regulation on a global level and economic and clean energy factors regulators must take into consideration to create sound regulation. Bevan sheds light on the capacity building programs she and her team work on in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East as well as the regional partnerships which she has designed throughout her career, including the West Africa Regional Regulatory Partnership and the East Africa Regional Regulatory Partnership. Tapping into the knowledge of public utility regulators across the United States, those programmes and partnerships use peer to peer engagements t

In the framework of the 7th World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER), ICER Women in Energy and FSR teamed up to ‘give a voice’ to women professionals actively contributing to the event. Aida Sitdikova is EBRD Director for Energy and Natural Resources for Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia. In this podcast, Aida explains the ‘energy transition’ in the Eurasian and Caucasus context. EBRD is committed to supporting a regional shift towards affordable, secure, reliable and sustainable energy despite the specific geopolitical context and constraints. However, fossil fuels are still largely used, have a strong political impact and represent large employment sectors for local populations. Therefore, transition in these countries will probably first move from coal to gas and only at a later stage to renewables. An example of this slow but steady transition is Kazakhstan. Financing the transition is also challenging: fossil fuels’ strong legacy, lack of infrastructure, affordability and poor education are only a few o

Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) and Apostolos Gkizas (Greek Regulatory Authority for Energy, RAE) discuss the most recent developments in the Greek renewable energy sector. Greece is not yet on track to achieve its 2020 target for renewables, but decarbonization of electricity generation is moving forward. RAE plays a decisive role in the field of electric renewables: from the licencing of RES plants to the auctioning of support schemes for new projects, and from the monitoring of projects’ implementation to the definition of electricity tariffs for cost recovery. The successful implementation of the auctions planned up to 2020 and the issue of saturated networks in some parts of the country are important challenges for RAE, which also has to cope with a significant understaffing due to recently imposed budget cuts.