Il WEC Inside è una pubblicazione bimestrale del World Energy Council (WEC) contenente interviste a rappresentanti del WEC e dei Comitati Nazionali, overview e aggiornamenti sulle attività recenti e future del WEC in tutto il mondo e, approfondimenti sulle ultime news in ambito energetico. La versione integrale del WEC Inside è disponibile nell'area Servizi Informativi, riservata ai soli Associati, sul sito del WEC Italia.

1.
WEC Inside
1–15 March 2014
Welcome to WEC Inside, your exclusive
briefing from your WEC network
News
The Africa Energy Indaba concluded last month
(18–20 February) in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The event is the WEC’s regular annual African
gathering.
Africa’s wealth of energy resources and un-
tapped potential was highlighted, as was the need
for more enablers that can unlock energy access
for the broader population and new markets.
Opening the Indaba, South Africa’s energy
minister Dikobe Ben Martins told delegates that the
country’s parliament had been instructed to fast-
track proposed legislation to level the playing field
between utility Eskom and independent power
producers (IPPs). South Africa has recently
opened its energy sector to renewables- and co-
generation-based IPPs. The government saw this
as a key way to enhance security of supply and
address the country’s power shortage.
The minister also met with Christoph Frei at the
conference.
The WEC launched its 2014 World Energy
Issues Monitor at the event with a keynote speech
by Brian Statham, Chair of SANEA and the WEC’s
studies committee. This was followed by a media
Energy Indaba one step closer to unlocking Africa’s potential
studies committee. This was followed by a media
roundtable including Marie-José Nadeau, WEC
Chair, and Christoph Frei, WEC Secretary Gen-
eral, discussing the findings of the study with re-
porters.
Qedani Mahlangu, a cabinet member of Gaut-
eng province’s infrastructure development arm,
launched the province’s Green Agenda to drive the
uptake of renewables and energy efficiency as
response to the energy trilemma challenges high-
lighted by the WEC.
Ms Mahlangu said: “We need to move beyond
business as usual. The energy trilemma is more
poignant to developing countries within the African
continent than ever before.”
The Indaba played host to a number of side
events including the UN’s Sustainable Energy for
All (SE4ALL). Mohinder Gulati, the newly appoint-
ed Chief Operating Officer of SE4ALL, led a dis-
cussion on how the initiative will implement its
goals of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and
energy access through an African regional hub and
to increase country participation elsewhere.
1–15 March 2014 WEC Inside1
What has been the key achievements of BEC a
year after it brought together the memberships of
BusinessNZ and the former Energy Federation of
New Zealand?
The BusinessNZ Energy Council’s first year has been
one of consolidation and growing thought leader-
ship. As a new entity, with membership broader than
its predecessor, the BEC has sought to ensure that its
membership foundations are strong and to build its
reputation as a body that is internationally well con-
nected via WEC – able to involve its members with
WEC, and influence WEC’s programme. The develop-
ment of a New Zealand energy issues map is an
example, as is the recent visit by Joan MacNaughton
and Christoph Frei’s current visit.
Secretary General Christoph Frei is coming to New
Zealand to speak about the World Energy Issues
Monitor, and energy poverty. How are these issues
relevant to New Zealand?
As a small trade-dependent nation, we are reliant on a
healthy global economy. It is often said that if Asia
sneezes, New Zealand catches a cold. So issues that
keep global executives awake might not be directly
relevant (New Zealand generates over 70% of our
electricity from renewable sources), but they inevitably
influence our energy system (for example, the com-
Interview
mercial viability of electric vehicles). Rising energy
prices have seen energy poverty become a political
issue. It is wider than just energy – healthcare, hous-
ing quality, and income also impact energy poverty.
Talk us through New Zealand’s top energy issues?
New Zealand’s energy issues cut to the very heart of
the ‘energy trilemma’ – how do we use our abundant
natural resources in a way that is environmentally
sustainable, affordable and cost-reflective. With a
liberalised electricity market, and no need for subsi-
dies, geothermal and wind are the most economic
options for new power generation investment. There
is now a political debate on whether we continue to
rely on this market to ensure the electricity system
remains efficient, or revert back to a central purchas-
ing model, and subsidise solar panels. Whether to
exploit our abundant petroleum and
minerals resources – which provide us with a hedge
against rising international energy prices to which we
are vulnerable, in a way that is environmentally re-
sponsible is also a current issue of debate.
How do New Zealand’s top energy issues compare
with the top global issues?
We have much in common – for example, energy
prices, energy efficiency and the climate framework
feature prominently in both even though the underlying
reasons might be different (such as our high depend-
ence on international energy prices, especially
transport fuels).
As for differences, the economic health of China
and India – two of our major trade partners – is
increasingly important to us, and we have rebounded
from the economic recession with over 3% growth in
2014 predicted so the impact of the global recession is
less important.
One difference highlighted in Joan MacNaughton’s
recent discussions with our industry leaders is that
capital availability is not the problem here for new
energy projects that it is elsewhere.
New Zealand is one of the few countries that have
an emissions trading scheme. How has this impact-
ed on the energy sector and prices?
The scheme covers power and fuel with no free carbon
credits so is unique. But renewable sources of electric-
ity generation are already economic without a carbon
price (a carbon price will not see planned new thermals
being displaced by new renewables) and the long run
cost of new renewables sets the price at the margin. A
carbon price in New Zealand simply lengthens the
window of investment in renewable electricity
technologies. ■
The World Energy Issues Monitor will be a hot topic in New Zealand’s
energy discussions this month as the BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC),
the WEC member committee, launches the report nationally.
John Carnegie, Secretary of the committee, talks about what’s keeping
New Zealand energy leaders awake at night.
News continued on page 2 ...
From left: WEC Chair Marie-José Nadeau, South African
energy minister Dikobe Ben Martins, and WEC Africa Vice-
Chair Bonang Mohale, at the opening plenary of the Africa
Energy Indaba
During the week WEC Chair Marie-José
Nadeau and Christoph Frei held talks in the capital
Pretoria with Nelisiwe Magubane, Director General
of Energy, South Africa, who recognised the im-
portance of the energy trilemma and who pledged
John Carnegie is Secretary
of BusinessNZ Energy
Council, the WEC’s New
Zealand member committee.