On 15 October 2018, a prominent conference on the topic of “Distribution networks as key infrastructure for the Energy World of the Future” was held in Ljubljana. The list of participants included representatives of leading companies and opinion leaders from many European countries as well as representatives of Slovenian authorities and energy companies. The ACER – the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators based in Ljubljana – participated in the conference as well. The conference was held by the AEEC, Associated European Energy Consultants, in cooperation with the Slovenian law firm Jadek & Pensa.
“The wonderful City of Ljubljana, which is situated in the heart of Europe, can be considered as the European Union’s capital of energy regulation since it is the seat of the ACER,“ commented Prof Christian Held, chairman of the AEEC and partner at Becker Büttner Held (BBH), the leading German law firm in energy law. “We were delighted to have this conference in Ljubljana, which provided us with valuable insights on some of the hottest topics related to distribution systems and their operation. It was encouraging to hear from the representative of the ACER that the distribution system operators (DSOs) are welcome to provide the ACER with suggestions on how to strengthen the cooperation between DSOs. Besides, greater coordination between DSOs and TSOs on network operational matters will be one of the key requirements in the energy world of the future,” he added.
Jure Levovnik, partner leading the energy practice at Jadek & Pensa, pointed out: “Jadek & Pensa is investing a lot of effort to be the leader in the area of energy law and new technologies and we are pleased and proud to have co-organized, in the year when we celebrate our 60th anniversary, a truly international conference that attracted several key stakeholders in the energy market from Slovenia and abroad.” He further added: “New technologies, innovations and new energy services are the driving force of the energy world of the future in which DSOs will play a crucial role. As stressed by mag. Duška Godina, the director of the Slovenian Energy Agency, not only e-mobility and integration of renewables, but also self-consumption and energy storage are among the main challenges DSOs are facing already today. Establishing an appropriate incentive scheme and tariff policy will be key to stimulate cost-effective investments in future distribution networks. DSOs, on the other hand, will have to act as neutral market facilitators and enable the development of new market-based services to consumers by third parties. They will have to manage their networks actively while at the same time taking care of cyber-security and personal data protection.”
The AEEC is an association of pre-eminent energy law specialists based in the European Union and beyond. The AEEC members are considered to be among the leading energy law firms in their home countries with additional experience in associated areas of law such as utility and communication, and environmental law.
The members of AEEC are currently based in different EU Member States (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden) as well as in several non-EU Member States (Albania, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine). Without shifting its European focus, AEEC has successfully established strong relationships with best friends, non-EU law firms, in the United States, India and Kazakhstan. The headquarters of AEEC is in Berlin. The AEEC is a unique organization and network that advises companies, governmental institutions and various associations on all questions of European energy and infrastructure law. That includes market-entry and cross-border consulting, advice on energy and utilities law and in relation to multinational activities.
Prof. Christian Held, AEEC chairman, and Mag. Jure Levovnik, Jadek & Pensa
