On 23-24 September, with the participation of 39 experts from 22 countries, Riga will host the Energy Regulators Regional Association 18th International Conference, which will be the biggest ever energy conference to take place in Latvia. It will discuss major changes within the power and natural gas industry globally and in the Baltic region. In Latvia, the conference will be co-hosted by ERRA member – the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) of Latvia.
“We are honoured that this major ERRA conference is returning to the Baltics and this time – to Latvia! Every year, it is devoted to the region in which it is taking place. Accordingly, this year’s conference will focus on the Baltics and Nordic countries, discussing closer integration within the power and natural gas market in this region. What challenges do we see for industries and regulators in the immediate future? What will be the role of natural gas during the next few decades? What is the current state of Baltic energy market and what developments can we anticipate in future? These and many other issues will be discussed at the conference,” explains PUC Chairman and ERRA Presidium Member Rolands Irklis.
The morning of Monday 23 September will be devoted to a discussion about the Baltic-Nordic electricity and natural gas market. Two presentation sections will be followed by panel discussions in which the main speakers will be from the Baltic and Nordic countries. In the section of the programme featuring presentations on the natural gas market, a presentation will also be given by Rolands Irklis. In turn, the second half of the day’s programme will focus on energy transition and decentralisation. Experts from Georgia, United Kingdom, Poland, Italy and the USA will discuss challenges in regulating energy consumer communities, the role of energy regulators in promoting electromobility and cyber security within the energy sector. The day will conclude with a panel discussion about the decentralisation of the energy sector with speakers representing Austria, Russia, France, Italy and Cameroon.
In the morning of Tuesday 24 September, the subject of energy transition and decentralisation will be examined further. Experts from Northern Macedonia, Hungary, Nigeria and Oman will discuss the challenges of integrating additional renewable resources in the power systems, the Mini-Grid framework in Nigeria and empowering consumers through innovative rooftop business models in Oman. Meanwhile, experts from USA, Finland, Latvia and Turkey will take part in a panel discussion about the impact of energy transition on the future power systems.
The concluding session will be devoted to the role of natural gas in the process of the transition of energy. Experts from Germany, Brussels and Poland will offer their insights into reducing the costs of decarbonising the energy system through sector coupling, and the current and future liquefied natural gas development dynamics. Afterwards, delegates from Germany, Georgia, Hungary, USA and Turkey will share their experiences during the closing panel discussion.
More detailed information about the conference, its speakers and programme, as well as registration is available on the ERRA homepage: http://ejuz.lv/22ht.
The Energy Regulators Regional Association (ERRA) is an inter-institutional non-profit organisation, which was officially registered in 2001. Its members and associated members are regulators from 39 countries from various regions of the world. Its shared goal is to improve energy regulation and to make progress as stable, effective energy regulators with the necessary autonomy and authority to make positive change. ERRA is widely seen as an example of an extremely successful regional association and is recognized as an important international institution as it covers Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, North and South America.
The PUC is one of the founders of this organisation and is an active participant in its permanent work groups. Since 2016, the PUC Chairman has been a member of the ERRA Presidium.