Discussion of issues concerning the challenges faced by the European energy sector was the main goal of the Power Summit organised by the Eurelectric. The event, hosting the representatives of the European Union, the government of Greece and the European energy sector, took place on 21 and 22 May 2024 in Athens. The Polish Electricity Association (PKEE) was one of the partners supporting the event. 21-22 May 2024 in Athens. Among the partners supporting the event is the Polish Electricity Committee (PKEE).

Security of Supply - how to stand up to the challenges that will define the security of supply in the future

Participants of the discussion, attended inter alia by PKEE Management Board Member Sławomir Staszak, Mechthild Wörsdörfer – Deputy Director General for the European Commission DG ENER, Constantin Borosan – Secretary of State at the Ministry of Energy of Moldova, Elena Giannakopoulou, Executive Director for Strategy at PPC, and Lari Järvenpää – Vice President Consumer and Market Intelligence at Fortum, stressed that Europe had the tools for an effective energy transition, but the industry faced a lot of challenges that nobody had taken into account not so long before.

During the “Power Talk: Security of Supply" Sławomir Staszak – Vice President of Energa and PKEE Management Board Member, reminded that “while building energy security of the entire European Union and its individual regions we must be prepared for new challenges.” He also added that “we cannot forget, though, about considerable differences when it comes to the starting points of Member States and their different approaches to reaching intermediate climate goals.” Mr. Staszak also assured that the Polish energy sector fully backed up and implemented the green transition: “We have ambitious investment plans with respect to zero- and low-emission energy sources. Soon, offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea will start playing an important role in the Polish energy mix. Their installed capacity is projected to reach nearly 6 GW in 2030 and as much as 18 GW ten years later” – he explained. Another element Mr. Staszak pointed towards was the fact that in the energy transition process we must not forget about transmission and distribution of electricity. He emphasised that: “The flexibility of the system will be of key importance, therefore we must remember that energy storage will probably play a crucial role in decarbonisation, at the same time contributing to the integration of the energy system and to providing security.”

Sustainable financing of the energy transition

At the initiative of the Polish Electricity Association, a round table on sustainable financing of the energy transition also took place during the Power Summit. The discussion under the auspices of PKEE hosted Stanisław Cichocki – representative of the Association and PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. in Eurelectric Sustainable Finance Working Group, Chairman of the above Group and coordinator of the debate.

During the speech opening the discussion of the round table, Marcin Laskowski, Vice President for Regulation at PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. and Vice President of the Management Board of PKEE, indicated that in the coming political cycle the EU decision-makers should place more emphasis on implementing the framework of sustainable financing: “New regulations concerning the sustainable financing framework could create obstacles in the enterprise transition process, therefore they are not what we need at the moment. What we need, though, is transparency and easy application of the law – he pointed out.

Bilateral meetings

Apart from the debates and discussions planned as part of the agenda of the conference, the Power Summit was also an opportunity to hold bilateral meetings. Dariusz Marzec, President of the Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. and PKEE, participated in a number of talks with, among others, Eurelectric authorities: Leonhard Birnbaum – President of Eurelectric, Chairman of the Board and CEO of E.ON SE, Marcus Rauramo – Vice President of Eurelectric, President and CEO, Fortum, Georgios Stassis – Vice President of Eurelectric, Chairman & CEO, PPC S.A, and Kristian Ruby – Secretary General of Eurelectric. During the meetings, topics concerning, among others, energy security, energy transition and cooperation in the field of elaborating regulations that are optimal for the entire European energy sector, were discussed. Summing up the series of meetings, Mr. Marzec indicated that transition of the European energy sector was one of the greatest challenges faced by our continent: “Events such as the Power Summit make a perfect opportunity for discussions and knowledge sharing, both as part of broad group of experts and during bilateral meetings with CEOs from other European countries. Leonhard Birnbaum, Markus Raumaro, Georgios Stassis, Kristian Ruby – thank you for fruitful discussions about the future of our industry” – he concluded.

Power Summit 2024

Power Summit is the largest power industry conference in Europe. The event, organized by Eurelectric in cooperation with, inter alia, the Polish Electricity Association, brought together more than 500 participants. The leitmotif of this year’s summit was the broadly understood security of supply.

Photo source: PKEE / Eurelectric