2nd World Utility Congress |13 May 2023
Seychelles’ delegation: (l to r) Mr Sunassee, PS Imaduwa amd Ms Bradburn
‘Utilities have to play a major role in decarbonizing the electricity sector’
“Recent geopolitical events have disrupted energy supplies leaving the world with a trilemma of how to ensure energy security and affordability while staying on track with net-zero commitments. Despite so, we have to come together to share our insights and perspectives on the industry affairs today and come up with tangible outputs for the current challenges.”
This was the message sent by energy ministers, policymakers, global chief executives and business leaders from around the globe at the 2nd World Utility Congress held in Abu Dhabi from May 8-10, 2023.
Seychelles was represented at this event by Tony Imaduwa, principal secretary for Climate Change and Energy; Doreen Bradburn, deputy chief executive of the Public Utilities Corporation (PUC); and Ravin Sunassee, chief operating officer of PUC.
The event started with remarks from Her Highness, President of UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators and H.E Suhail Bin Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister for Energy and Infrastructure both of whom emphasised the urgency to address the challenges of the impact of climate change.
Her Highness Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan also mentioned the need to advocate inclusion and diversity in the energy sector, more specifically, the involvement of the young generation.
The opening session was followed by a series of high-level strategic discussions from looking at upcoming COP28 and building momentum on the road to net-zero, how do you enable a just transition to exploring the roles of utilities in decarbonising the energy sector.
In addition to the strategic conference, the World Utilities Congress also comprised a technical conference and an exhibition with more than 150 regional and international exhibitors. These provided ample opportunities for global energy leaders, policymakers, innovators, and industry professionals from across the power and water utilities value chain to 1) discuss the major trends and challenges shaping the industry, 2) discover the latest technologies and solutions in power generation, transmission and distribution, green hydrogen and ammonia, nuclear energy, water management and desalination and 3) generate new business, cultivate business relationships and meet key suppliers.
The event also featured a dedicated Nuclear Energy Forum which ran alongside the exhibition and conferences, focusing on the role of nuclear energy in achieving net-zero, new and emerging technologies in the nuclear industry, challenges and opportunities and the future of the nuclear energy industry, and more.
Another technology that was prominently mentioned throughout the conferences was green hydrogen and ammonia.
“It was interesting to hear energy leaders and experts talking about it as the low-carbon solution for the world. The challenges the world is facing to transition and correct the 1.5°C pathway to 2050 cannot be achieved by renewable energy alone and not as fast as we would have liked. The conferences provided us the opportunities to learn more about hydrogen, its entire value chain as well as its emerging influence in the power and water sector,” noted the Seychelles delegation at the meeting.
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