What will the future electricity sector look like and how should we get there? The current trajectory suggests it may be substantially larger, involving greater levels of intermittent, zero marginal cost renewable energy, with much higher capital costs of generation and transmission. It is therefore particularly important to determine how investment in electricity is financed, and how costs are shared between different users at different times. Problems of high costs, instability and insecurity in energy systems are also possible without intelligent electricity policy.
Costs and benefits and winners and losers from the future electricity industry will depend upon governance and market arrangements as well as technological progress. This raises numerous questions which must be answered for an effective decarbonisation transition. How will new technologies interact with existing market structures? What will the future market and regulatory arrangements look like? How will industrial users adapt to decarbonisation? How will anticipated changes affect the developing world? Will consumers respond to changing technologies and regulations in a sustainable manner?
“The future of electricity” workshop will provide insight into these questions. A selection of leading energy economists will speak, including Frank Wolak (Stanford), Richard Green (Imperial), Andreas Loeschel (Uni. Muenster) and Catherine Wolfram (UC Berkeley), among others. Each speaker has been chosen as a thought leader in their field. Talks will be structured to offer in-depth insight into each topic, whilst also facilitating debate. A number of key policy representatives will be in attendance, facilitating interaction between academia, industry, government agencies and the wider energy community.
We have a number of additional spaces available. Attendance is free but registration is required as space is limited. Please confirm attendance by registering via eventbrite.
