Session III: Innovation in the Electricity Sector for the Democratization of Access to Energy and Consumer Protection

The I RELOP Cycle of Debates ended on the 5th November 2020, with a session dedicated to the “Innovation in the Electricity Sector for the Democratization of Access to Energy and Consumer Protection”. The topics discussed included:

• Innovation and projects in the electricity sector, through the scenario of technological advances in the energy sector along with public and regulatory policies;

• The democratization of energy access from the perspective of the legislator, through the analysis of the Brazilian legislative approach to combating energy poverty and expanding access to energy;

• The challenges and opportunities of solar and renewable energy in Portugal, focusing on the innovation model of one of the largest companies in the Portuguese energy sector, EDP Portugal.

In this session, moderated by Dr. Maria Cristina Portugal, Executive-Director of RELOP and President of the Board of Directors at ERSE, 114 people participated, with an average interest rate of 92%.

Innovation and projects in the electricity sector

Intervention summary:

• Analysis of the innovation process in the energy sector, illustrated through the Portuguese case.

• Discussion of key developments and diffusion patterns for different technologies in order to understand diffusion and technology adoption patterns.

• Discussion of the evolution scenarios for the propagation of electrification and the penetration of renewable energies in the energy system, its impact on policies, construction of forecasts and design of the policies necessary for its implementation and wide dissemination.

Democratization of energy access from the perspective of the legislator

Intervention summary:

• Discussion of legislative innovations within energy regulation to promote broad access to energy, with emphasis on electricity and consumer protection in Brazil.

• Analysis of the challenges and opportunities posed by the liberalization of the electricity market, the number of vulnerable consumers and the social and geographic characteristics in Brazil.

• Presentation of the legislative mechanisms funtions in combating energy poverty, such as the Social Electricity Tariff or the Fuel Consumption Fund.

Challenges and opportunities of solar energy in Portugal

Intervention summary:

• Analysis and presentation of renewable energy projects in Portugal, in particular those promoted by EDP Portugal.

• Highlight for the role of solar energy for the global energy transition, illustrated by the innovation process of EDP Portugal, highlighting the initiatives for the electrification of the energy sector and initiatives in the field of solar energy, such as the “Virtual Sun” projects, “ Electric House” and “Smart Now”.

Event Recording