ISTANBUL
One of Europe’s leading figures in energy regulation on Tuesday called for distribution systems to be updated to accommodate renewable energy.
“Electricity is vital for all countries, considering the global perspective, distribution systems should be modernized for the renewable electricity contribution," Valeria Termini, vice president of the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) and Italy’s energy commissioner, told the World Forum on Energy Regulation in Istanbul.
Citing examples from her home country, Termini said: "Since 2007, the Italian electricity generating system included renewable energy generation. In 2013, the gross domestic electricity production was 63 terawatts, there are 600,000 different types of electricity generation plants in the country and annually 46,000 megawatts of electricity is produced."
A megawatt will supply up for 900 homes for a year.
The forum, sponsored by Anadolu Agency and hosted by Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority, heard that new, “smart”systems were capable of warning consumers of supply problems or unnecessary usage.
Martin Crouch, co-chairman of the CEER working group, called on investors to finance research into new technology in the industry. "We need to develop ourselves in order to supply the different demands resiliently," he said.
Johan Rens, an Associate Professor at South Africa’s North-West University, stressed the importance of international harmonization.
"Some years ago, there was no competitive electricity market in South Africa,” he told delegates.
He added: “Any changes applied to the South African energy market, such as technical or legal regulations, will most likely affect the rest of the African continent and its electricity system.”
The forum aims to develop a common approach to energy regulation by bringing together regulatory representatives from around the world.
