In the framework of the 7th World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER), ICER Women in Energy and FSR teamed up to ‘give a voice’ to women professionals actively contributing to the event.

Christina Espinosa is founder and CEO of GenteGas, a social enterprise in Guatemala, helping local households reducing the entry costs of modern and clean gas stoves and fuels.

By easing access to clean cooking facilities and LPG, fostering education and raising public awareness, GenteGas aims to eradicate families’ exposure to indoor air pollution and the related health problems.

In this podcast, Christina explains her leading motivations in founding GenteGas; she also provides an interesting analysis of the local context and the main challenges that led to the development of an ecosystem approach within GenteGas.

As a concluding remark, Ms Espinosa highlights the importance of educating and informing households and communities: a full understanding of the energy sources and technologies available is essential for the adoption of the most efficient and environmentally friendly solutions.

Check out more podcasts like this one and learn more about the Lights on Women Initiative here: medium.com/lights-on-women/

In the framework of the 7th World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER), ICER Women in Energy and FSR teamed up to ‘give a voice’ to women professionals actively contributing to the event.

Patricia de Suzzoni is currently the Advisor to the President at CRE, the French regulatory authority. As Patricia has filled so many different roles in the energy and telecom sectors, we asked her about the main challenges, as well as opportunities, she faced while transitioning from industry to the public sector. After giving some insight on her experiences, Patricia discusses the similarities between the regulation of energy and the regulation of telecoms and highlights the lessons that can be learned, given that the two sectors are increasingly facing the same challenges. (e.g. data privacy and cybersecurity)

Check out more podcasts like this one and learn more about the Lights on Women Initiative here: medium.com/lights-on-women/

In the framework of the 7th World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER), ICER Women in Energy and FSR teamed up to ‘give a voice’ to women professionals actively contributing to the event.

Marie-Pierre Fauconnier is President of the Board of Directors at CREG and Vice President of CEER. During the interview with Swetha Bhagwat (FSR), her first remark highlighted how the role of women has changed in the energy sector: 25 years ago, they were very few, while today, although still a clear minority, they are gaining more and more space and responsibilities.

According to Ms. Fauconnier, the two biggest challenges the energy sector will be facing in the upcoming future are the integration of RES in the energy mix and the impact of digitalisation and new technologies. These “novelties” generate both opportunities and threats. It is crucial for energy regulators to ensure that ‘every customer is onboard’ so that no one is left behind.

Digitalisation and the speedy adoption of fast-changing technologies are challenging the very same way regulators work and operated. New skills and approaches are needed to cope the energy transition. Women can provide an important contribution in this regard.

Check out more podcasts like this one and learn more about the Lights on Women Initiative here: medium.com/lights-on-women/

In the framework of the 7th World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER), ICER Women in Energy and FSR teamed up to ‘give a voice’ to women professionals actively contributing to the event

Bevan Flansburg is the Deputy Director in the International Department at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). In this podcast, Bevan and Swetha start off by discussing sustainable energy regulation on a global level and economic and clean energy factors regulators must take into consideration to create sound regulation. Bevan sheds light on the capacity building programs she and her team work on in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East as well as the regional partnerships which she has designed throughout her career, including the West Africa Regional Regulatory Partnership and the East Africa Regional Regulatory Partnership. Tapping into the knowledge of public utility regulators across the United States, those programmes and partnerships use peer to peer engagements to provide strategic support, ensuring that regulators in developing countries acquire the knowledge they need in order to make tangible improvements in energy regulation. A main challenge Bevan mentions regarding the regional efforts is to find a common thread between the countries who have similar regulatory goals but need a tailored approach to achieve them. Her team uses a consensus-driven approach to provide tailored support to regulators, giving them the tools they need to build effective clean energy policies within their national action plans.

Check out more podcasts like this one and learn more about the Lights on Women Initiative here: medium.com/lights-on-women/

In the framework of the 7th World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER), ICER Women in Energy and FSR teamed up to ‘give a voice’ to women professionals actively contributing to the event.

Aida Sitdikova is EBRD Director for Energy and Natural Resources for Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia. In this podcast, Aida explains the ‘energy transition’ in the Eurasian and Caucasus context. EBRD is committed to supporting a regional shift towards affordable, secure, reliable and sustainable energy despite the specific geopolitical context and constraints. However, fossil fuels are still largely used, have a strong political impact and represent large employment sectors for local populations. Therefore, transition in these countries will probably first move from coal to gas and only at a later stage to renewables. An example of this slow but steady transition is Kazakhstan.

Financing the transition is also challenging: fossil fuels’ strong legacy, lack of infrastructure, affordability and poor education are only a few of the main obstacles. There is a clear absence of local capital markets for long-term investments making it crucial for governments to adopt policies that attract investments and incentivize further developments in the energy sector. In this regard, EBRD is fully active, trying to attract actors from outside the region, provide expertise and advice, and monitor the implementation of the national policies.

Since 2013, EBRD has not financed any new coal-fired power plant but rather promoted the installation or upgrade of renewable power plants and the development of transmission and distribution grids. Attention is devoted to natural gas too, given its role as a transition fuel necessary for coal replacement.

As concluding remark, Ms Sitdikova stresses the importance for institutions like EBRD to adopt and promote inclusive and gender balance policies, both within and outside the institutions. Opening job opportunities to women in the energy sector and granting them equal conditions is fundamental for the development of countries like those in Central Asia.

Check out more podcasts like this one and learn more about the Lights on Women Initiative here: medium.com/lights-on-women/

Nicolò Rossetto (FSR) and Asta Sihvonen-Punkka (Fingrid) exchange views about the digitalisation of the energy sector. The massive deployment of renewables and advancements in the ICT field are making a deeper digitalisation of the energy sector both possible and increasingly necessary. As a result, it is possible to detect a greater parallel with the telecom sector, especially in terms of cybersecurity challenges. European energy companies are beginning to understand the importance of cybersecurity and are catching up quickly. A regulatory framework is being built, but there is still a lot of work to do to ensure that companies receive the right incentives and properly address the issue of cybersecurity. Sharing experiences and best practices among companies and regulators is vital in this respect.