The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) was invited by Thailand’s Ministry of Energy to support the Sustainable Energy & Technology Asia 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand on 23 – 25 March 2016.  During this event, ACE participated in 3 (three) forums:  Panel Discussion where ACE Executive Director (ED), Dr. Sanjayan Velautham, spoke as one of the key panelists about how to achieve energy integration in ASEAN; keynote speaking session where Mr. Beni Suryadi, ACE Acting Manager for Policy Research and Analytics Programme spoke about Opportunities and Barriers for Energy Policy Integrations in ASEAN; and a side event on Renewable Energy (RE) Policy study, organised the Renewable Energy Support Programme for ASEAN (ASEAN-RESP), a jointly implemented project by ACE and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Credit : ACE

During the Panel Discussion organised by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) on 24 March 2016, Dr. Velautham explained how the ASEAN Member States (AMS) have been conducting efforts to achieve energy integration at the regional level as a community.  He discussed the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2016-2025 that encourages energy integration with its theme ‘Enhancing Energy Connectivity and Market Integration in ASEAN to Achieve Energy Security, Accessibility, Affordability and Sustainability for All’.  The APAEC is used as an action plan document to move towards energy integration, among others through the ASEAN Power Grid and the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline projects.

Credit : ACE

Mr. Suryadi, in his session on the second day of the event, explained about the AMS’ commitment to take opportunities and overcome barriers in order to achieve energy policy integration.  He showed that the AMS plan a comprehensive approach to face energy challenges, using international and national perspectives, as well as setting regional targets.  Later that day, the ASEAN-RESP welcome fellow SETA 2016’s guests to attend the discussion about its study on the impact of RE Policy on RE development in ASEAN.  The study was presented by Ms. Badariah Yosiyana, ACE Acting Manager for RESP Programme, and Dr. Ludovic Lacrosse, Executive Chairman of the consulting firm for the sudy, Full Advantage.  To enrich the discussion and to share a different perspective on RE policy-related activity at the community level, the ASEAN-RESP welcome Mr. Thomas Chrometzka (RE Director of GIZ Thailand) to join the line of speakers at the side event.  ASEAN-RESP team had the honour of having the side event’s entire discussion moderated by ACE ED, Dr. Velautham.  He guided the agenda of the event including the questions and answers session, which prompted the guests to actively participate.

Credit : ACE