Asia Regional Workshop on 'Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships for Sustainable Electricity and Energy Efficiency'
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership (GSEP) jointly organised a high-level workshop on the Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) under the Sustainable Electricity Development programme in New Delhi during 27-28 November, 2014. Various stakeholders from the Asian region participated in the workshop, which was organized to stimulate discussions and share perspectives on concrete ways and means to promote effective PPPs for sustainable electricity and energy efficiency projects in Asian countries. The workshop also aimed at identifying enabling policies and regulations that best promote the deployment of renewable and low carbon-emitting energy sources for energy efficiency.
Dr Leena Srivastava, Vice Chancellor of TERI University and Honorary Executive Director of TERI presided over the conference, along with Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General of the Government of India's Bureau of Energy Efficiency. Dr Srivastava opened that the workshop represented the right type of initiative needed in the modern day world: "TERI has been recognized as a capacity-building hub for the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All initiative and is looking forward to continue joining forces with partners such as GSEP to pool resources and to ensure that the right capacities are in place to advance the UN SE4ALL goals." Dr Mathur emphasised on the need for public-private participation in promoting energy efficiency and sustainable electricity. He also enunciated about various initiatives undertaken by the government of India for promoting energy efficiency.
The workshop comprised of six technical sessions on various aspects of public-private participation including policy and regulatory aspects, national strategies, financing, transmission, distribution and energy efficiency, perspectives from private sectors, and case studies in electricity generation. The panellists and speakers deliberated on the best practices and golden rules for the success of PPP projects. Around 90 representatives including policy makers and energy regulators from energy ministries, development banks, public and private utilities attended the workshop.
At the proceedings, the speakers stated that if implemented well, PPPs can effectively promote successful investments in renewable energy projects, low carbon-emitting energy projects, energy efficiency and grid modernization programmes. It was also emphasised that PPPs can enhance the scaling up of access to sustainable energy while fostering significant economic growth and carbon emission reduction.
Mr Vijay L Sonavane, Advisor, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission, stressed upon the role of public and private players in showcasing the benefits of PPP at the micro level to accentuate its importance in the domain of sustainable energy. He also chaired the concluding session and expressed his gratitude for being a part of the workshop.