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Once again we go to the heart of boardroom thinking with our comprehensive annual global survey of power utility company leaders around the world. Both this year and in the last two years, concerns about security of supply top the list of anxieties with massive technological and infrastructure investment required to meet burgeoning demand and address environmental concerns. Against that background, last year in our Under Pressure report, we asked investors about the attractiveness of investment in the sector and found significant concerns about regulatory uncertainty and market volatility.
This year we go inside the industry to focus on the sector’s viewpoint about The Big Leap forward that needs to be made. We find a sector that has little doubt about the scale of the challenge facing it and has increasing confidence that it can provide many of the solutions. We survey the changes that are being or need to be made in technology, investment, M&A, efficiency, cleaner fuels and customer relationships.
But we also find a sector still worried that these developments may flounder on the hurdle of continuing regulatory uncertainty despite the industry voicing its concerns. Planning, price and regulatory uncertainty continue to cloud the long-term investment frameworks that are needed to deliver a range of solutions such as nuclear, clean coal and renewables.
Like bird flu, the industry is worried that a full appreciation of the preparations needed won’t happen until the worst symptoms occur. The respondents to our survey point to a real concern that shock factors such as supply crises may intervene ahead of considered regulatory reform.
Looking ahead, there is considerable need for regulatory frameworks to emerge that provide a better environment for investment and planning but our survey respondents remain divided about how fast progress can be achieved. The political and economic context for power remains caught between a pure market-oriented approach and a more planned and structured environment. In some territories, respondents expect the opening up of markets to continue while elsewhere they expect it to stall. It is against this background that the industry has to 'roll its sleeves up' and work with government and investors to make the infrastructure, technological, environmental and investment leaps that need to happen.
Contact Name
Olesya Hatop,
Global Energy, Utilities & Mining Marketing
Telephone: +49 201 438 1431
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