First PPP conference in Serbia a Success

GSEP, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), hosted this week the first conference of a global series under its Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) for Sustainable Electricity Development Program.

The conference targeted countries from Eastern and Central Europe and Central Asia. With active participation from Iberdrola (Spain), SGCC (China), Enel (Italy), RWE (Germany), EDF (France) and RusHydro (Russia), these GSEP members shared with participants their experience with PPPs based on concrete projects and proven strategies.

With strong participation from the Ministry of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection of Serbia, the dialogue was officially opened by Mr. Dejan Trifunovic, Assistant to the Minister on Renewable Energy Sources and Electro-Energy. The conference featured high-level and expert panels, led by representatives from Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions, the International Finance Corporation, UNECE and GSEP. It was attended by 57 participants, including representatives from public and private sectors from 9 countries of the region.

From the discussions, it is evident that the countries in the region have already adopted national energy strategies and are working on setting enabling regulatory frameworks to attract investment in the energy sector and increase the share of renewables in their energy mix. The conferences served to create a forum where participants exchanged on the best practices for successful PPPs and discussed how to fill in the gaps to effectively promote the implementation of more PPP energy projects in the region.