The UK Energy Summit | Economist Conferences UK

June 24th 2010

The Dorchester, London

"In the frigid opening days of 2009, Britain’s electricity demand peaked at 59GW.
Just over 45% of that came from power plants fuelled by gas from the North Sea.
A further 35% or so came from coal, less than 15% from nuclear power and the rest from
a hotch-potch of other sources. By 2015, assuming that modest economic growth resumes,
a reasonable guess is that Britain will need around 64GW to cope with similar conditions."

"How long till the lights go out?", The Economist, August 6th 2009.

The UK faces a range of urgent and critical energy challenges.

The new UK Government will be expected to deliver policy initiatives to ensure that progress is made towards tackling climate change, dwindling North Sea oil reserves and concerns over energy security whilst keeping the country on track to achieve its stated target of reducing carbon emissions by 34% by 2020.

With a keynote policy address from Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change starting the day, The UK Energy Summit provided a superb opportunity for strategic discussions to take place and allow attendees to debate and define a vision for the UK's energy sector in these uncertain times.

Topics that were discussed included:

- Keynote address from the new Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
- The risk of failure: Which energy policies will deliver the right set of outcomes for the UK and for the planet?
- Who will pay for the urgently needed investment? With budget cuts expected, outside private capital will need to play a leading role
- Building competitive advantage: How does the UK build a globally competitive position in energy technologies
- Unlocking the commercial potential of new technologies: A critical examination of the most promising energy-related products and technologies and how they will impact industry.
- Prospects for global energy security and supply: What are the implications frms need to be aware of, and which are the most likely scenarios?
- Understanding the new consumer: With customers managing their energy consumption directly and selling surplus power to the grid, what will this mean for traditional revenue models?

Speakers included:

Chris Huhne Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change	Sam Laidlaw Chief Executive Centrica	Alistair Buchanan Group Chief Executive Ofgem
Don Leiper Managing Director, Retail E.ON UK	James Smith Chairman Shell UK	Sir David King Director, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment University of Oxford
Roger Harrabin Environment Analyst BBC	Christoph Frei Secretary General World Energy Council	George Monbiot Author and journalist

09.00

CHAIR'S INTRODUCTION

Roger Harrabin, Environment Analyst, BBC

09:15

KEYNOTE POLICY ADDRESS

Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

09:40

THE RISK OF FAILURE
Which energy policies will deliver the right set of outcomes for the UK and for the planet? How do the new Government’s plans stack up against harsh economic realities and the need for action on climate change?

Sir David King, Director, Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, University of Oxford

10.25

REFRESHMENT BREAK

10:55

PANEL: INVESTMENT – Urgently needed, but who’ll pay?
The investments needed in order for the UK to decarbonise our energy systems and ensure future supply run into hundreds of billions of pounds. As we anticipate a period of extreme fiscal responsibility, outside private capital will need to play a leading role.

Who’ll pay for the much-vaunted smart grid?
What incentives are needed to get people to invest in renewable energy, given the low carbon price?
Where are we going with nuclear power, and who should bear the risk of capital-intensive investments?

Sam Laidlaw, Chief Executive, Centrica
Tom Burke, Founding Director, E3G; Visiting Professor, Imperial College London and University Colleges London
Malcolm Webb, Chief Executive, Oil & Gas UK

11:55

PANEL: ENERGY EFFICIENCY - The view from business
The way in which Britain generates and distributes its energy has major implications for the energy industry's key consumers: businesses. A panel of business leaders will discuss the findings of a new EIU report which asks:

How concerned is business about an impending energy crisis?
How is business consumption of energy changing? What is being done in terms of implementing greater efficiencies?
What kind of support and services does business want from its energy utilities, and what appetite does business have for a smart grid infrastructure?

Moderator: James Watson, Managing Editor, Economist Intelligence Unit
John Miles, Director, Arup
Robert Simpson, Head of Technical Development, ASDA
Heiko Lehmann, Processes and IT, Leader Innovation Development, Deutsche Telekom
Andrew Stanton, Head of Sustainable Buildings, Transport for London