The first installment of EMA's Distinguished Speaker Programme (DSP) the morning of 29 April saw over 200 professionals from the energy sector attend the public lecture by Tenaga Nasional Bhd Chairman, Tan Sri Leo Moggie.The former Malaysian energy minister engaged the audience with his views on "The Dynamics of the Electricity Industry", while highlighting the prime responsibility of the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) in ASEAN--which is to deliver reasonable, affordable and reliable electricity supply to meet the needs of consumers. This was put into sharp perspective when Tan Sri Moggie shared that even today, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), around 1.5 billion people still have no access to electricity. Of that number, 10 percent of them reside within the ASEAN region.
Tan Sri Moggie noted that the challenges the ESI faces in meeting its key objective are multi-dimensional. The reality, he pointed out, is that depleting indigenous energy resources is at odds with soaring demand. Decisions have to be made about balancing the need to encourage heavy industry which help ramp up economic growth and meeting the objectives of reducing emissions and increasing efficient use of energy he said.
Additionally, the ESI has had to deal with rising and increasingly volatile fuel prices, which have been impacted greatly by recent headline events in the Middle East and North Africa. Tan Sri Moggie said this calls for prudent risk management to find the right balance between project development and exploring alternative supply options and technologies.
Tan Sri Moggie also noted that nuclear can no longer be ignored as a viable option, with the increasing pressure to mitigate climate change and with nuclear clearly able to address this issue. He added that the silver lining to come out of the Fukushima tragedy is the increased scrutiny and focus on safety. The biggest barrier to nuclear is not necessarily technical, but public perception. With Fukushima fresh on consumers' minds, he noted that it will be challenging to persuade the public to support nuclear.
Tan Sri Moggie concluded his hour-long presentation by highlighting to the audience the opportunities for regional co-operation through the ASEAN Power Grid. Grid interconnection provides an excellent way to optimise the use of energy sources across member countries, especially in terms of sharing spinning reserve and emergency situations.