Session I:
Decarbonising in an interconnected and digital world
Innovation is fundamental to long-term economic growth and has great potential to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. If the EU is serious about decarbonisation, governments must be prepared to embrace new trends and be progressive about creating the right market conditions for low-carbon technologies to flourish.
The roll-out of ICT-based solutions for monitoring, managing and measuring energy-use and carbon emissions in various sectors of the economy, including for example transport and buildings, requires the power industry and other players to rethink and redesign their long term strategies. This session will consider the role of digitisation and innovation in delivering the European and global decarbonisation objectives. Debates will focus on the positive outcome of the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris and the impact this will have on the further development of European and international climate policy, and the technological tools to deliver the global objectives.
Session II:
Attracting and empowering customers in smart new ways
Digital products and services and sophisticated and empowered customers are driving innovation across all industries - and across the industry value chain. In step with these trends, the electricity industry is transforming its business architecture, redrawing boundaries and redefining relations with customers and suppliers. The new electricity architecture is vital to thrive - and survive - in the new digital age. But will utilities be agile enough to stay at the centre of the game? Will they know how to capitalise on their core strengths – knowledge, asset-base and customer-base – whilst becoming more attentive to customers’ needs and open-minded to collaboration with other actors? Will they remain indispensable?
This session will look into the implications of technology developments, of customers’ shifting preferences and of the political push from the European Commission towards a digital single market for utilities and for the downstream business in general.
Session III:
Enhancing the value of the intelligent grid
DSOs are entering the 21st century as market facilitators and proactive enablers in the smarter world of intelligent homes and cities. DSOs must therefore speed up and complete their transition to smarter grids. To allow for appropriate investments in this field, policy makers and regulators must ensure adequate incentives for DSOs, allowing them to recover investments at a market rate.
This session will discuss how innovative, digital and smarter grids will become a reality. Panellists will discuss how to achieve efficient coordination and cooperation between distribution and transmission operators on system operation and network planning as well as on key fundamental topics, such as data handling and cybersecurity.
Session IV:
Smarter power markets in the digital age
The development of embedded and decentralised generation is a game changer for power markets. Digitisation is the one development that will allow living up to the challenge. Indeed, the ever faster use of data brings more possibility to increase competition in the wholesale markets by enabling prosumers, storage, small generators and RES to participate along with more centralised assets. As forecast improves and as a range of more complex products and increased trading opportunities develop, intermittency will also become easier to handle. Together with stronger IT systems, digitisation makes it possible to combine market integration at European level and more local aspects of energy generation/consumption.
This session will examine how digitisation can help integrate electricity market development at European level with the parallel development of local generation resources. Possible topics that will be raised include questions such as: will prosumers trade their power with their smart phone in the future? Will local power exchanges develop? Will power markets follow an “Airbnb trend”?
A final CEO debate will address issues of governance and politics and consider whether these are in sync with a fast-changing world.
