On February 16-17 2012, the Energy Regulators Regional Association (ERRA) hosted a meeting of the Licensing and Competition Committee, and Workshop on Regulatory Aspects of Smart Grid. The meetings were held in Gdansk, Poland. The event brought together regulators from a number of Central/Eastern European and Central Asian countries. Richard Cowart, RAP’s European Programmes Director, and Edith Pike-Biegunska, an Associate with the Europe team, presented at the meetings.

Richard Cowart offered insights into the benefits of Smart Grid investments and the role of national regulators in ensuring that Smart Grids are supported by smart policies. The following day, he presented on global experiences with Energy Savings Obligations, emphasizing the benefits of energy efficiency to consumers, the power system, and the environment, and emphasizing the range of successful approaches to energy efficiency underway in the US, EU, China, and elsewhere. Edith Pike-Biegunska discussed renewable energy policies in the UK from 1990 to the present, and highlighted some of the main criteria for designing an effective renewable energy policy.

More information on the Gdansk event, including the full list of presentations, is available at http://www.erranet.org/Events/ERRA/2012/Licensing_Gdansk_February.