Third High-Level ESAP Plenary Meeting

Background

The IEA created the Electricity Security Advisory Panel (ESAP) to focus on the challenge of ensuring reliable delivery of electricity during the transition to low-carbon sources for generating power.  The third annual ESAP plenary meeting in June 2016 followed the publication of the IEA report Re-powering Markets and focussed on designing electricity markets for low-carbon generation, as well as the impacts of the COP21 climate negotiations and other international and national-level climate and energy policies on electricity markets.

Programme and Presentations

Welcoming Remarks:  Fatih Birol, Executive Director, IEA

Keynote Speech:  Melanie Kenderdine, Director of the Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis and Energy Counselor to the Secretary, Department of Energy, United States

SESSION 1  -  REPOWERING MARKETS:  LESSONS LEARNED

Moderator: Manuel Baritaud, Gas, Coal and Power Markets Division, IEA

Panellists:
•  Jun Luan, Vice-President, State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), China
•  Andrew Vesey‌, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, AGL, Australia
•  Ben Voorhorst, Member of the Board and Chief Operating Officer, TenneT, The Netherlands
•  Takehiko Matsuo‌, Secretary-General of the Electricity and Gas Markets Surveillance Commission, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan

SESSION 2  -  AGEING LOW-CARBON CAPACITY: REGULATORY AND MARKET CHALLENGES

Moderator:  László Varró, Chief Economist, IEA

Panellists:
•  Norman C. Bay, Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), United States
•  Marie-Pierre Fauconnier, President, Electricity and Gas Regulatory Commission (CREG), Belgium
•  Bo Diczfalusy, Chief Executive Officer, Energy Policy Commission, Sweden

SESSION 3  -  BEYOND PARIS:  THE ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY AND THE ACCELERATED MOMENTUM OF CLIMATE POLICY

Moderator: Paolo Frankl, Head of the Renewable Energy Division, IEA

Panellists:
•  Virginie Schwarz, Director of Energy, French Ministry for Environment, Energy and the Sea, France
•  James Leaton‌, Research Director, Carbon Tracker Initiative, UK
•  Simone Mori‌, Head of European Affairs, ENEL, Italy
•  Melanie Kenderdine, Director of the Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis and Energy Counselor to the Secretary, Department of Energy, United States

Concluding Remarks:  Keisuke Sadamori‌, Director, Energy Markets and Security, IEA

The Third High-Level Plenary meeting provided a platform of discussion in order to seek insights from high-level representatives of governments, regulators, system operators, industry and academia on the analysis and policies needed to ensure electricity security and addressed the following questions:

• To support the transition to low-carbon power systems, a new market design must incorporate carbon policies and renewable support into a consistent market framework.  Experiences in terms of designing wholesale electricity markets around the globe provide a wealth of information to identify best practices.
  • How can the design of electricity markets influence the ability to transition to a low-carbon electricity system, at least cost, while maintaining electricity security?
  • What are the key lessons learned for different IEA member countries and associated countries?

• The transformation of the power sector involves the retirement of ageing conventional capacity and the deployment of variable renewables as well as other resources to complement them.
  • What are some of the challenges to meet the scale and pace of this transformation, specifically regarding the phase out and retrofit of ageing capacity?
  • What regulations are needed to extend the life of ageing low-carbon capacity, achieve climate change objectives and transition to a secure decarbonised electricity system?

• The Paris climate agreement during COP21 created an accelerated policy momentum for rapid decarbonisation.
  • What are some of the impacts of decarbonisation goals on the business environment and the policies and regulations under which companies operates?
  • What issues are to be addressed to ensure electricity security of supply in this context?

The meeting was informal in nature and was held under "Chatham House Rule".  Each session was introduced by invited members of the Advisory Panel and was followed by a roundtable discussion.