SAFIR-SAREP Conference on ‘Deepening Cross Border Electricity Trade and Regional Electricity Market Development for Sustainable Energy in the South Asia Region’
Cross Border Electricity Trade (CBET) possesses an immense opportunity for South Asia and can trigger rapid decarbonising of power sector and foster energy security through the development of large-scale sustainable energy infrastructure across SA. This requires development of interconnected and integrated power system in the region.
USAID, through its erstwhile South Asia Regional Initiative for Energy Integration (SARI/EI) program, has been partnering with the South Asia Forum for Infrastructure Regulation (SAFIR) in various areas. SARI/EI’s activities have recently transitioned to USAID’s South Asia Regional Energy Partnership (SAREP) program.
On March 2-3, 2023, SAFIR and SAREP jointly organized the SAFIR annual infrastructure conference. This conference, titled, “Deepening Cross Border Electricity Trade and Region Electricity Market Development for Sustainable Energy security in the South Asia Region”, was held in New Delhi.
At the event inaugural, iIn his welcome address, Harry Kriz, Director, Indo Pacific Office, USAID India, said that CBET can trigger rapid decarbonization of energy sector in South Asia through the development of large scale clean, green, and sustainable energy infrastructure across the region. He also highlighted the important role of regional institutions such as SAFIR in advancing a regionally integrated grid.
This was followed by special addresses by Harpreet Singh Pruthi, Secretary, SAFIR and Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC); Chief Guest Alok Kumar, Secretary (Power), Government of India; Nima Tshering C, Director, Electricity Regulatory Authority, Bhutan; and John Smith-Sreen, Deputy Mission Director, USAID/India.
They talked about the importance of regional energy grids and their potential to exploit diversity in time zones and peak load hours in various regions, visibility of market access and the importance of CBET in harnessing green energy, and the importance of regional organizations and partnerships in providing a push for regional power cooperation.
Monali Zeya Hazra, Regional Energy and Clean Energy Specialist, USAID India, delivered the vote of thanks for this session.
The inaugural was followed by four working sessions spread over two days, where senior officials and experts from public and private sectors in the power market in South Asia shared their views. They discussed topics such as transmission infrastructure, conducive policies, transition strategies, and innovations, technologies etc. that would be required for increased regional energy trade.
The event included sharing of key findings of the study on ‘Transition of Bilateral Power Trade To Trilateral And Multilateral Power Trade in South Asia and International Experiences’, in Working Session 3. Rajiv Ratna Panda, Power Market Specialist, SAREP, presented the main findings of the study, which covered key learnings from international experiences and the present scenario, and a modern framework for trilateral and multilateral trade in South Asia.
The conference ended on March 3 with a vote of thanks by Mr Pruthi. “There is diversity, complementarity of demand, and diversity of energy sources, in South Asia. The discussions here have strengthened our understanding of huge opportunities to deepen cross border electricity trade,” he said in his concluding remarks.
Agenda and Concept Note:
- Concept Note-SAFIR-SAREP Conference on “Deepening Cross Border Electricity Trade and Region Electricity Market Development for Sustainable Energy security in the South Asia Region”
- Agenda SAFIR-SAREP Conference on “Deepening Cross Border Electricity Trade and Regional Electricity Market Development for Sustainable Energy in the South Asia Region”
Presentation:
