ATHENS, Greece – In this historical city widely known as the cradle of Western civilization, energy regulators from all over the world will once again convene to discuss pressing issues and new trends in energy regulation – those that shall define the sector’s pathway into the future.

As most energy markets trail competitive set-up, the bid for security and reliability of supply is also facing changeover processes. Hence, this has been set among the primary topics to be fleshed out at the Fourth World Forum on Energy Regulation which shall run October 18-21 here.

Participants in the global forum shall be apprised as well on the best practices that regulators must learn from, chiefly those dealing with pricing decisions. The necessary adjustments that evolving markets must adhere to will also be tackled, with the end-goal of ensuring balance between regulatory processes and the noble cause of protecting public interest.

Given the intensifying debates on climate change risks, the regulators will also wage market response toward the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In this, technological innovations as well as ‘green alternatives’ are seen playing a central part.

The energy leaders shall similarly assess the efficiency of CO2 emissions reduction mechanism; such as carbon caps and carbon trading arrangements.

The interplay of climate change policies and the advent of competitive markets have long been established, and regulators see the importance of revisiting measures to ensure that these are attuned to the needs of the times and the changing structures in the energy sector.

In many countries, including the Philippines, the turn of the decade is considered a crucial turning point for governments to woo fresh round of investments to ensure non-interruptible power supply to their end-users.

With the global economic slowdown, needs for additional capacity for most markets have been pushed back a bit. Yet, energy policymakers consider this a critical transition to re-assess policies and investment conditions.

Given the near-term call for new round of capital for projects, the regulators will also investigate the energy sector and the financial markets’ interdependency issues.

Additionally, renewable energy regulation in developing countries shall be examined – in terms of market efficiency, system security, reliability and primarily as a key factor in the transition to low carbon energy systems.

As consumers are the most important factor at the end of the chain, discussions will also revolve around concerns on competitiveness and affordability of the gas or electricity being distributed into homes or businesses.

On the technology front, innovations on smart grids, advanced metering and real-time pricing will be amplified and the intended benefits explored and how these will eventually trickle down to the end-users.