The BAEE has planned a number of public events in Belgium and the Netherlands for this year. (1) A workshop on experiments in May 2014 (The Hague). (2) The 3rd Research Workshop on Energy Economics in Sep / Okt 2014. (3) A Policy Workshop in Nov 2014 (Brussels). (4) A joint workshop with NeVER. More details regarding date, location and programme of these events will follow as soon as possible.

All members of the Benelux Association for Energy Economics (BAEE) are invited to attend the third general annual meeting of its members. This meeting will take place in the Meeting room of Regione Piemonte, Rue du Trône, 62 in Brussels on March 25, from 17:15 till 18:00.  Members intending to join this meeting are kindly asked to register by sending an email to the by March 20. A mail with the invitation and meeting details has been sent out to all BAEE members. If this mail has not been received for some reason, please contact the . Participants in this meeting are also kindly invited to a workshop that preceeds the BAEE meeting at this venue (see previous news item).

On March 25 a public workshop is organised by the SESAME project - and endorsed by BAEE - that adresses the topic of policy and Regulation for security of power supply in the multi-level and multi-country environment of the EU and its  member states. The workshop takes place in Brussels (meeting room of Regione Piemonte, Rue du Trone 62) from 9:00 till 17:00. Participation in this workshop is free of charge, but participants are required to register by writing an email to: . More information on the SESAME project and the workshop programme can be found in the workshop flyer and the project website.

The Groningen Energy Summer School 2014 for PhD students takes an interdisciplinary approach to one of the hottest topics of the energy landscape: smart grids. By bringing together and combining a broad range of disciplines, this event will offer a unique opportunity to PhD students to become aware of different aspects of the energy transition, to develop novel insights, and to create synergy in approaches to smart grids. During the summer school, the participants will attend lectures by specialists in the field, present their own work, and play an active role in workshops and discussions. In addition, excursions to the Eemshaven and to the Maasvlakte will be part of the program. The summer school will be held from 18 to 29 August 2014 in Groningen, The Netherlands and will host 30 PhD students from all academic backgrounds working on energy topics. The list of speakers, programme and more information on the admission and selection procedure can be found at www.rug.nl/research/energy/education/summerschool. Admissions will close on March 15.

Call for Papers
On October 4, 2013, the Benelux Association for Energy Economics (BAEE) will organize its second research workshop on energy economics together with KU Leuven. This small-scale workshop will take place in Leuven (Belgium) and will offer researchers from the Benelux the opportunity to present a paper and to interact with colleagues. Click here for more information.

On May 7 2013 the BAEE organises a policy workshop on the topic of investment in electricity generation capacity. Recently, generation capacity adequacy in the Belgian electricity market has been questioned by some stakeholders. This workshop sets one step back and puts the question of generation capacity adequacy into perspective by focusing on a number of questions such as what is the ‘relevant market’ when considering generation adequacy? Should we take a country perspective or a more international perspective? And, in the latter case, should it be a European perspective or something in between a Belgian and European perspective? If generation capacity is indeed inadequate, then what are the reasons for this? And what could be appropriate measures or incentives to remediate?
More information can be found here.

The BAEE organises its second General Members Meeting on Thursday January 31, at NMa offices in The Hague. This meeting will preceed the BAEE/NeVER seminar on the Regulation of TSOs that takes place on the same day at the same venue. 

More information on the General Members Meeting can be found here.

On January 31st 2013, BAEE and NeVER  jointly organise a seminar on Tariff regulation of TSOs. In the past decade we have witnessed an ongoing integration of energy commodity markets in the EU and, currently, the first steps are taken for a European harmonisation of technical rules in the energy sector. However, tariff regulation of network operators has remained a national issue, resulting in differences between member states. In this seminar we shall discuss the need for some form of European harmonisation of tariff regulation for transmission system operators (TSOs). Questions addressed are: What would be the economic rationale for harmonisation? What is the current legal situation concerning harmonisation? And: what is legally possible and what not?
More information can be found here.

The significant growth of renewable energy poses  challenges for the design of electricity markets. This workshop addresses the following questions: 

• How does  intermittent production  affect the level and volatility of electricity prices and the incentives for investments in power plants?
• How should we deal with the policy challenges this poses? 
• Is there a need for coordination with neighboring countries? 

More information can be found on our website.

CPB, NMa and TILEC organize the 9th Energy Economics Policy Seminar in The Hague. The topic of the seminar is Climate change and international environmental agreements.  
The aim of the seminar is to study, among others, why it is so hard to have a well-functioning international environmental agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and which lessons we can take from the partial failure of the  Kyoto protocol. 
Two keynote speakers will present their view on this topic: Scott Barrett (Colombia University) and Cathrine Hagem (Statistics Norway). Their presentations will be discussed by Ton Manders (Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency), and Erwin Mulders ( Ministry Economics Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation). There will be ample time for discussions with the public. 
Participation to the seminar is free, but registration is required. 

More information