Pierre Gadonneix pledges WEC support for India following blackout

 

 

Pierre Gadonneix, the WEC Chairman, has written to Member Committee chairs to pledge the WEC network’s support to India following the power outage in northern India earlier this month which left more than 600 million people without power for two days.

He wrote: “It is important that we unite in our support for India at this difficult time. The issues faced by this major nation are ones with which we must all contend: the security of supply, environmental and climate protection and the ongoing struggle against energy precariousness. These issues will continue to impose themselves in the future, ever vigorously, and will increasingly be a cause for concern for us all.

“I hereby pledge the support of the entire WEC family to the Indian population, its government, and to our Indian Member Committee.

“For my part, I think we must heed India’s blackouts as a warning. The time has come to sharpen our awareness so that, collectively, we can start making the right decisions, and, from hereon in, find the necessary solutions to the challenges we will continue to face. The World Energy Council’s action, mobilization and, above all, solidarity, has more resonance than ever.”

 

These challenges will be discussed at the next World Energy Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi on 6 February 2013. This is the first time the event will be held in India. It will be co-hosted by the WEC Indian Member Committee (WEC-IMC) and India’s energy sector ministries. The WEC-IMC will also host its annual energy event, India Energy Congress 2013, on 7–8 February 2013.