And now… “En marche” toward UFE’s Annual conference!

Substantial changes are currently taking place: France has a new government and is about to elect a new Parliament, while, at the European level, a regulatory framework on the ever-evolving electricity market is at the heart of the parlementary debate. In this context, UFE will organise one of the landmark events in the sector: its annual symposium on December 5th in Paris.

This event is the conventional gathering for the electricity sector. This year, after the presidential and legislative elections, UFE’s conference on December 5th will notably adress to a new political staff. Therefore, UFE is looking forward to welcoming several representatives from the new government, the administration as well as various local officials and Members of the Parliament.

Pragmatism and innovation

Innovation will be at the heart of the symposium. The main issue is indeed about moving collectively from the objectives of the French law on the energy transition and the green growth – that the French President has reasserted – to the concrete implementation of the energy transition. To ensure its industrial, technological, economic and social success, pragmatism and innovation will both be key.

Decision-making tools

In this perspective, UFE will present the results of its new study during the conference. If still under preparation, the objective of this study is threefold:

• Provide decision-makers with supporting material in a “short- and mid-term” perspective (the study will target a 2030 scenario, which reprensents almost two five-years terms and two periods of multiannal programming for energy);
• Fall within the major objectives established in the latest texts on energy (fight against climate change, energy transition and digitalisation) and within programmes that were debated during the presidential campaign, while emphasising the need to review or adjust implementation tools (taxation, regulation constraints …).
• Take into account the temporality related to economic and social issues and explore ways to support these changes.
  Following the 2016 study which focused on the evolution of energy consumption from all sources so as to reach a climate objective, the 2017 study will shed light on power generation, transmission and distribution in order to provide a big picture of the electricity system and answer several key-questions:
• How is the customer’s bill evolving?
• What will the consequences on employment be? What kind of jobs will be created in new branches and what professional traning will be necessary to lead this deep transformation ?
• How should France contribute to the 2-degree objective set in the Paris Agreement and foster the evolution of the energy mix while limiting the carbon footprint of the electricity sector ?
• How will supporting exporting branches and reducing dependence on import strenghten the French economy ?

The annual conference will also be the opportunity to discuss structural issues for the French and European electricity systems: the on going decentralisation dynamic, which might affect the balance in terms of national solidarity; innovations such as storage that are likely to disrupt the whole value chain, and many more … All in all, this event is not to be missed !
To have a look at the draft programme: click here