WEBINAR: Outlook of Central America and the Caribbean Electricity Sector Post-Covid-19

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Last month a virus almost no one had ever heard of before upended the lives of billions of people across the globe. The measures taken to contain the virus are putting huge pressure on water, health, sanitation, and telecommunication services, none of which can be provided without energy.

Now more than ever, we are witnessing the importance of developing reliable, resilient and digitized electricity services to overcome crises and ensure business continuity. But keeping the lights on is not without complexities; the electricity sector continuity challenge relates to maintaining quality of service and affordability, whilst ensuring the financial viability of the generation, transmission and distribution and businesses.

The structural changes that we will see in the Caribbean and Central America’s economy after the pandemic subsides give us an opportunity to advance long term energy transitions goals for a sustainable, reliable, and clean energy future. This webinar will look at current technologies and trends that support grid modernization as critical infrastructure is put to the test.

Questions:

What’s the way forward for the energy sector post-Covid-19? How big was the fall in electricity demand? How are historically low oil prices affecting the course for renewable energy projects? How are utility boardrooms reacting to the pandemic? How can crews be safely deployed to work on regular grid maintenance? How are system operators coping with the loss of revenue streams? How are productivity and the transition to clean energy being affected? Can regulators provide any relief? Are the region’s electricity grids reliable enough? Are emerging technologies and digitization creating new opportunities?

Speakers:

• ​Guadalupe González, Director of Electricity, Secretaría Nacional de Energía de Panamá
•  Maurizio Bezzeccheri, Head of Latin America Region, Enel Group
• Cletus Bertin, Executive Director, Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC)
• Marco Acuña, Board Member, Empresa Propietaria de la Red S.A.
• Rodrigo Fernandez, President, Comisión Nacional de Energía Eléctrica (CNEE) de Guatemala​

Moderator:  Juan Cruz Monticelli