EURELECTRIC ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2005 :
"POWER FOR EUROPE: CAN WE SHAPE THE FUTURE?"

INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME

“Those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future”. Hans Haider, Chairman of the Managing Board and CEO of Österreichische Elektrizitätswirtschafts-AG (Verbund) and outgoing EURELECTRIC President, quoting former United States President John Kennedy, reminded the 500 delegates from the electricity and gas industries, representatives of EU and national legislative and regulatory bodies and political circles, plus customer associations, financial experts, industry consultants and academics gathered in the Austrian capital Vienna for the 2005 EURELECTRIC Annual Conference.

Mr Haider set out for the audience the themes that would be addressed over the next two days under the heading Power for Europe: Can we shape the future? Following an Executive Forum looking at the impact of new technology on the future electricity business, an array of expert speakers and panellists would focus on recent and future developments in market structure across Europe; examine the conditions for industrial competitiveness; and assess the financial shape of the electricity industry and the need to ensure vital ongoing investments in both generation plant and infrastructure. After which, moderators would seek to point up visible trends for the future of the electricity business, he promised.

Mr Haider drew attention to a comprehensive declaration which the EURELECTRIC Board had approved on 12 June, addressing the range of interlocking challenges facing the industry. “The Vienna Declaration is a statement of belief in the role of electricity in helping to develop an energy-efficient, low-carbon, energy-secure and competitive economy. It underlines our commitment to developing a competitive European electricity market that will be able to deliver these benefits to citizens and customers”, he explained.

Hans Haider announced that he was stepping down as EURELECTRIC President and that Rafael Miranda Robredo, CEO of the Endesa Group and since 2002 EURELECTRIC Vice-President, was to succeed him at the end of the Conference, with Lars G Josefsson, President and CEO of Vattenfall as Vice-President.

“It will fall to these two exceptional representatives of our industry, Rafael Miranda and Lars Josefsson, to spearhead driving forward the policy agenda of EURELECTRIC in representations with the legislators, politicians, regulators and our stakeholders. I wish them both great success and I am confident they will bring strong leadership to the tasks ahead”, said the outgoing President.

After congratulating the Conference hosts, Austrian electricity sector association VEÖ, on their superb logistical organisation and support, and thanking official sponsors Accenture, the various cooperation partners for their valuable input to the programme, Mr Haider welcomed on to the podium the Chancellor of Austria, Wolfgang Schüssel.

“Without energy there is no life”, stressed Wolfgang Schüssel, Austrian Federal Chancellor, as he welcomed EURELECTRIC and the conference delegates to Vienna, the city in which both oil producers’ body OPEC and the International Atomic Energy Agency had established themselves. Mr Schüssel highlighted the challenges posed by a world demand for energy set to double by 2030 and the need for 750GW GW of new or replacement power capacity – around 1,000 power plants - in Europe. The sheer importance of those challenges was illustrated by the blackouts and incidents that had occurred in 2003-2004, he pointed out.

- Expressing his firm belief in the European Union - “Europe is a process and we should go forward with that process without wavering”, he stated - Mr Schüssel also declared that “market liberalisation provides a strong framework” for meeting the energy needs of the future and that “we must finalise liberalisation” of the sector as soon as possible. He also welcomed current developments towards an energy market in South-East Europe that would be linked to that of the EU. The main overall challenge was to ensure “coherent and consistent” guidelines and regulations across Europe for energy, taking account of such related challenges as climate change action and water policy as embodied in the EU Water Framework Directive, he underlined. But given the vital importance of energy, “politicians should try to ease the burden on the power sector”, he concluded.