Annual IENE Conference Attracted Strong Interest From Greece and the SE European Region With Energy Security Emerging as Key Topic

With more than 70 speakers and moderators and 250 delegates in all attending this major IENE event, the 26th “Energy & Development” conference managed to attract strong interest from governments, companies and top experts from Greece and from several countries in the broader region. The conference also received wide press coverage by local and international media.

Speakers analysed thoroughly the economic and social consequences of the energy crisis. At the same time, participants submitted views and proposals on how Greece and the wider region of South East Europe would be able to emerge unscathed from the acute energy crunch driven by soaring prices but also to secure energy supply and adequacy.  

The conference kicked off with a ministerial panel discussion, which was held under the auspices of the Environment and Energy Ministry and was chaired by the Minister Mr. Kostas Skrekas, and which proved to be one of the highlights of the conference. 

The ministers who participated in the panel discussion during the IENE conference included the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy of Albania, Belinda Balluku, the Minister of Energy of Bulgaria, Rosen Hristov, the Minister of Energy of Romania, Virgil-Daniel Popescu, the Minister of Economy of Kosovo, Artane Rizvanolli and the Minister of Energy of Greece Mr. Kostas Skrekas. 

Issues of coordinated actions to jointly deal with the energy crisis and the deepening of energy cooperation between their countries were discussed at length during the ministerial roundtable discussion. The prospects for energy supply adequacy and the promotion of green energy were also topics in the discussions of the Ministers.  

In his introductory statement, IENE’s Chairman and Executive Director Mr. Costis Stambolis outlined the Institute’s contribution in formulating the region’s energy policies while he stressed the Institute’s role in forging a closer and more effective regional cooperation.  

“Over the years, IENE has managed to establish a substantial regional presence with increased responsibilities towards governments and regional institutions but at the same time, enabling it to adopt a more critical and deeper view on energy issues in a wider and more realistic environment. That enabled IENE to play a key role in the policymaking and the strengthening of bilateral and regional cooperations,” Mr. Stambolis said.  

IENE’s Chairman also pointed out the imperative need for closer cooperation and coordination between the countries and especially at SEE European and European Union level. 

The address of the Secretary General for Energy and Ministerial Resources for the Environment and Energy Ministry Ms. Alexandra Sdoukou was widely applauded by the Conference’s attendees. Ms. Sdoukou presented the Ministry’s policies, and in particular those related with the upgrade and expansion of electricity networks and natural gas infrastructure. Referring to the government’s energy savings initiatives, the Secretary General explained their paramount importance for the country’s energy transition.  

Greece’s energy transition from heavily fossil fuel-dependent energy to green and environmentally-friendly sources such as renewables which lead to a green economy and a successful tackling of climate change were also elaborated by Ms. Sdoukou. Finally, the Secretary General expressed her confidence of Greece becoming an energy hub and an important stakeholder in the energy sector.  

The 26th "Energy & Development" continued with the introductory speeches of the President of RAE, Dr. Athanasios Dagoumas, the President and CEO of DAPEEP, Mr. Yiannis Yarentis, Mr. Giorgos Polychroniou, Coordinator of Strategic & Development Activities of DEPA and Mr. Dimitris Tsitouridis, Country Coordinator for Greece of DG Energy from Brussels (via teleconference).  

The President of RAE spoke of the short and long-term consequences of the energy crisis on the overall policy making and referred to the state’s interventions to shield consumers from hiking electricity prices. RAE’s proposals for the containment of energy crisis to the EU’s Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) were of great interest for attendees. “We will try to convince our European partners for the integrity of our proposals and will organise a special information seminar for this reason,” he said. 

Another highlight of the Conference was the announcement of IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2022, which was expertly presented by Mr. Apostolos Petropoulos, an energy modeler from the IEA team in Paris. 

Top electricity and gas experts and the chairman of UNICEN then delivered interesting presentations and comments on the skyrocketing levels of electricity prices and the impact of the windfall tax on electricity generators’ profits and the negative effect on industry.  

EnEx Director Markets Operation Christoforos Zoumas, who participated in the same panel, defended the day ahead schedule for the containment of the rise in electricity prices. He also elaborated the new 15-minute contracts in the Day Ahed markets.  

Elpedison and Protergia representatives Mr. Andreas Petropouleas and John Giannakopoulos respectfully vehemently opposed the imposition of windfall tax, while UNICEN President Antonis Kontoleon argued that the ceiling on PPAs practically annuled them.  

For his part, SYRIZA MP and shadow Minister for Energy Mr. Socrates Famellos expressed his party’s view for the need to renationalise the Public Power Corporation (PPC). The state needs to protect its citizens and the Greek households and not the electricity producers’ profitability, he said. Also, the target model should be redesigned, he added.  

The former Deputy Environment and Energy Minister, who opened the proceedings of the second day of the Conference, stressed that the major issue for the Greek society is the high energy costs and the accumulation of excessive profits from electricity producers and refiners.  

The session on hydrocarbons and the need for accelerated exploration attracted strong interest. Ms. Tereza Fokianou, President and CEO of Flow Energy and Member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of IENE’s Upstream Committee coordinated the session. Dr. Aristophanis Stefatos CEO of Hellenic Hydrocarbon and Energy Resources Management Company (HEREMA) and Mr. Giannis Grigoriou VP Central Eastern Europe & Scout Group and IENE Partner took the floor.  

Experts spoke of the urgent need for the undertaking of extensive seismic and exploration surveys concerning large on-and off-shore gas fields in Greece which could cover the country’s needs for the next 30-40 years. “We owe to ourselves to find out if the estimates for our country’s mineral wealth are true,” Dr. Stefatos said, while Mr. Grigoriou revealed that Greece “hides” 70-90 tcf of natural gas, which correspond some 12-15.5 billion barrels. For her part, Ms. Fokianou, said that the cost of hydrocarbon research and exploration burdens solely the investor and not the state’s budget at all.  

The “Energy and Development 2022” Conference offered a unique opportunity to approach energy, economy, environment, and energy sustainability issues through a discerning and comprehensive lens. Issues such as energy infrastructure and the strategic role of natural gas and LNG in the global and peripheral energy supply along with the obstacles in the electricity and natural gas markets in SEE Europe were thoroughly revisited. New technologies and their development for energy needs but most importantly the strategies which should be followed to ensure Greece’s entry to next energy revolution were discussed by experts.  

IENE’s annual Conference was held under the auspices of the Environment and Energy Ministry and the Regulatory Authority for Energy or RAE.  

The 26th Energy and Development Conference was concluded with the award of the IENE life achievement prizes ‘Prometheus 2022”to these individuals who each excelled in specific fields.  

The main sponsors of the Conference are DEPA Commercial, DEDDIE (HEDNO), the law firm KG Law, More Energy, HEREMA, and TERNA Energy, while the supporters included the companies ENERGEAN, DESFA, Elpedison and NANKO Renewables. Furthermore, Task Sponsors include of the Sunlight Group and ADMIE (IPTO), while the Communication Sponsors were Energia.gr, NE Global, Naftemporiki, Foreign Affairs and EnergyPress.