More than 250 delegates attended the two-day annual National Energy "Energy and Development 2014” conference, which took place in Athens, at the Eugenides Foundation, on November 11-12, 2014. Organized by the Institute of Energy for SE Europe (IENE), the "Energy and Development 2014” conference, which is regarded as Greece’s foremost energy event, gathered senior executives from several key European energy organizations in the field of energy and covered the broad areas of geopolitics, sustainability, energy security and related economic development in Greece and its broader region.
The conference was held under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change and opened with an address by Minister Mr. Yannis Maniatis. Mr. Maniatis stressed that the recently announced co-operation among Greece-Cyprus and Israel, on the one hand, and Greece-Cyprus and Egypt, on the other, are not directed against any particular country of the region. On the contrary, as Greece’s Minister of Energy noted, these ties signal the country’ s determination to become a factor of stability and development in the region, following the example of the United Kingdom and Norway.
The conference’s keynote speaker, Dr. Nikos Vassilakos, Chairman of the Regulatory Energy Authority (RAE) of Greece, announced that the Greek electricity market is following a strict timetable and will therefore adapt to the Target Model during the following years (2015-2016), so that the country will abide to the European target for a common electricity market. As Dr. Vassilakos noted, to this end, all the necessary regulatory procedures are currently underway.
Although the "Energy and Development” Conference is IENE’s biggest country event covering Greece’s national energy agenda, some of the senior executives of European organizations were among its speakers, as this year’s conference focused on the international dimension of Greece’s energy priorities. Dr. Oliver Koch (Deputy Head of Unit, DG Energy, European Commission ,Brussels), Mrs. Beate Raabe (Secretary General, Eurogas, Brussels), Ambassador Jan-Meinte Postma (Special Envoy of the Secretary General, Energy Charter, Brussels), Mr. Jan Van Aken (Secretary General, EFET), Mr. Chris Beddoes (Secretary General, Fuels Europe, Europe, Brussels), Mr.Simon Uzunov (Head of Electric Unit, Energy Community, Vienna), Mr. Jan Ingwersen (Business Area Manager, Markets, ENTSO-G), Mr. Dan Staniaszek (Senior Expert, Buildings Performance Institute Europe - BPIE, Brussels), took the floor of the "Energy and Development 2014” conference.
Moreover, experts and professionals of international esteem, such as Dr. Leo Drollas (independent consultant, UK) and Mr. Solon Kassinis, (founder and Managing Director of Kassinis International Consulting Ltd and former Vice President of KRETYK, Cyprus) were also among the event’s speakers. Mr. Mathios Rigas (Chairman and CEO , Energean Oil & Gas Co.,Greece), Mr. Spyros Paleoyianis (CEO, Public Gas Corporation of Greece – DEPA and Member of IENE's Board of Directors, Greece) and Dr. George Stamtsis (General Manager of Hellenic Association of Independent Power- HAIPP, Greece) were also some of the senior executives who participated and presented their companies’ views and plans in the sectors of oil and gas, natural gas and electricity respectively.
The conference’s sessions covered the following subjects:
·The Changing International Energy Environment and the New Challenges
·The Geopolitical Dimension of Energy and the Role of Greece in EU’s Security of Energy Supply
·Trends in the European Electricity Sector and the Outlook of Greece’s Electricity Market
·A Strategy for RES Development and the Emphasis on Energy Efficiency
·The key role of natural gas in Europe’s energy markets, the SE European region and the role of Greece
·Latest developments in Oil & Gas Exploration and Production in Greece and the East Mediterranean
The main sponsors of the 19th Annual National Conference "Energy & Development 2014” included Greece’s Public Gas Corporation S.A. (DEPA S.A.) and Kyriakides Georgopoulos Law Firm (KG Law Firm, Greece). Hellenic Petroleum S.A., Energean Oil and Gas Co. and TERNA Energy SA were among the conference’s supporters. The "Kathimerini” newspaper, SEE News and Energia.gr, as well as the Hellenic Wind Energy Association (ELETAEN), were the conference’s media partners.
