‘The future of electricity’: a panel of experts considers what lies ahead in Canada, Colombia, Egypt, Germany, Italy and Japan

Abstract

Governments around the world have made major commitments to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and to ‘electrify’ major segments of their economies. However, current electrical systems were not built to be clean or renewable, and their resilience will be tested in new ways in the face of changing demand and climate change. Clearly, as part of reducing fossil dependence, there will need to be major investments in upgrading electricity generation and delivery. But with change comes challenges. How are governments, investors, utilities, project developers and consumers dealing with the competing demands for best-in-class-technology, reducing carbon footprints while providing reliable service at reasonable rates, and what can consumers afford or be required to pay for? This was the context for and these were the questions addressed by this panel of electricity law experts. This summary has been prepared based on one of the Power Law Committee's panels held during the International Bar Association (IBA)’s Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law (SEERIL) 2022 biennial meeting.