WEC's Bi-Monthly Commentary on Energy Issues, 1 September 2008

WORLDENERGYCAREERS.ORG LAUNCHED

A major new enhancement in the form of an energy careers portal - WorldEnergyCareers.org -- has been added to the WEC website. With the energy industry facing a significant shortage of human resources, WorldEnergyCareers.org is designed to help address this situation by putting well qualified students and energy professionals in touch with energy employers around the world. Closely linked with WEC's initiative to build a Future Energy Leaders Community, this service will add value for WEC member companies, the Future Energy Leaders Community and others in the energy industry, provide companies with access to high calibre job candidates and help offset the energy industry's human resources bottleneck.
WEC member companies will benefit from a 60 day free trial of the CV database and CV search services starting September 1st. For more information visit http://www.worldenergycareers.org/

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES APPLIES FOR MEMBERSHIP

By now, you should have received a ballot paper asking for your Committee's approval of the membership application of United Arab Emirates. With this application, and assuming their membership is approved, we will have completed our recruitment campaign to bring in the main Gulf States countries.
The term of Majid Al-Moneef, Vice Chair, Special Responsibility for Gulf States and Central Asia, ended last year, but we intend to nominate a new Vice Chair from this area at the 2009 Executive Assembly, and we will then plan a special programme to promote WEC's work in this region and to involve the Gulf States Member Committees more fully in WEC's activities.

WEC AFRICA REGIONAL EVENTS TAKE PLACE IN DURBAN

SANEA, WEC's South African Committee Member, hosted three WEC events on 28-29 August in Durban, South Africa, including a roll-out of the Scenarios study, an Africa regional meeting and a workshop on a new joint initiative between WEC and Ernst & Young on "Powering Africa". Participants from Botswana, Egypt, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa attended.
The Scenarios roll-out took place on the morning of 28 August. It was moderated by Brian Statham, Chair of the study and Chairman of SANEA, who gave an overview of the results of the global Scenarios study, with Tawfik Azer of the Egyptian Member Committee presenting the African Scenarios report and Latsoucabé Fall, WEC Africa Regional Manager, focussing on "Building a Sustainable Energy Future for Africa through the Lion Scenario", in which he stressed the features and impacts of this particular scenario and its importance in shaping a sustainable energy future for Africa. Following the three presentations, attendees discussed how to further promote the Scenarios work in Africa and what could be done to engage African governments in applying the conclusions and recommendations of the study, in particular, to encourage them to work toward achieving the "Lion Scenario" in their countries.
The Regional meeting took place on the afternoon of 28 August. Africa Vice Chair Professor Abubakar Sambo was unable to attend due to an unavoidable conflict, and in his absence, Latsoucabé Fall chaired the meeting. Topics discussed included progress on the Africa Regional Action Plan, specifically the outcomes and follow-up for the workshop on Grand Inga held in London last April and the WEC-WEF Partnership on Energy Poverty Action, including the Niger "Energification Project". Also covered were the Africa work programme planned for 2009 and 2010 and the Africa-LAC Bi-Regional Forum planned for Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, this coming December.
 
Emily Melton, WEC Director of Member Services, Finance & Administration, updated the participants on the upcoming Mexico City Executive Assembly and gave a presentation on the 2010 Montreal Congress. The three bidders for the 2013 Congress -- Denmark, South Korea and South Africa -- presented their bids and answered questions from attendees, and the day concluded with a dinner for all delegates.
The following day, Michael Cupit (Ernst & Young) and Ms. Melton led a workshop on a proposed new joint initiative of WEC and Ernst & Young titled "Powering Africa". This project would aim to establish a charitable fund to invest in small (under 50MW) power projects and associated distribution systems and connections. OECD utilities and energy companies would be approached for funding to establish the charitable fund. A separate development company would also be created to work with local counterparts to develop, construct and operate schemes, including capacity building. The project is intended, over the long term, to address energy accessibility and the alleviation of energy poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, where energy access remains stubbornly below 20%. WEC and Ernst & Young would be heavily involved in the initial stages of the project, but once the charitable fund and development company are fully established, their roles would diminish, although WEC would continue to be involved in an advisory capacity. The African members endorsed the new initiative and provided excellent input and advice about how it could be further developed, enhanced and implemented.
Our thanks to Brian Statham and SANEA for the excellent organisation of these events and for their warm hospitality.
All presentations and conclusions from these meetings will be posted on GEIS in the near future.

FT-WEC ENERGY LEADERS SUMMIT

The first annual FT-WEC Energy Leaders Summit, a conference organised by WEC in partnership with the Financial Times, is fast approaching. The event will be held in London on 16-17 September. The theme for the Summit is "Investment Opportunities in Clean Energy Businesses". The Summit will bring together those energy leaders, policymakers, financiers and emerging new energy players who are in the vanguard of shaping our clean energy future. Confirmed speakers include WEC Chair Pierre Gadonneix; Antonio Brufau, Chair and CEO of Repsol YPF; H.E Geir H. Haarde, Prime Minister of Iceland; Angel Gurria, Secretary General, OECD; Jeffrey Kupfer, Acting Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy; Tulsi Tanti, Chairman and Managing Director, Suzlon Group Limited; and Dr. Hassan Younes, Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Energy.
Registration is still open, and WEC members are entitled to a 40% discount off the registration fee. For further information, visit http://www.ftconferences.com/energy2008/home.asp or contact Theresa Hedberg (hedberg@worldenergy.org) in the London office.

STAFF CHANGES AT WEC LONDON

Jocelyn Grant, Executive Assistant to the Studies Programme, resigned effective 8 August. Jocelyn and her fiancé are moving to Ottawa, Canada. Jocelyn will be very much missed, as she has provided a high level of support for our Studies programme over the past year. I am sure you will all join me in wishing her well.
We have hired Gemma Witt as the new Studies Executive Assistant to replace Jocelyn. Gemma joined us on 1 August and has been busily working on getting up to speed on the various studies which are currently ongoing, particularly the Assessment work. Gemma comes to us from Lockheed-Martin; prior to that, she worked for the Welsh government. Please join me in welcoming Gemma to WEC.

GERALD DOUCET     
Secretary General
World Energy Council     
5th Floor, Regency House,
1-4 Warwick St.
LONDON W1B 5LT
TEL:  (+44 20) 7734 5996