JUNE 26

A key challenge is to transition from fossil fuels to next-generation clean energy without making consumers pay more. Multiple trends are driving the transformation of global energy systems. One of them is electricity networks, including "the digitization of everything and the electrification of everything," decentralization, decarbonization, and deregulation.

Accelerated deployment and the rapidly falling cost of solar and wind power, energy storage, electric vehicles, smart grid technology, and more broadly the Internet of Things, can all facilitate the growth of digital "exoskeletons" around electricity networks and other energy systems. This increases network resilience, while creating opportunities for new business models and operations. Technologies are evolving at exponential rates, but policy, planning, and investment decisions continue to evolve in a linear fashion. Disruption is inevitable, but can the transformation be managed? Below are a few observations from a recent high-level seminar on the future of energy systems organized by ADB. A key outcome of the discussions was identifying comparative and competitive advantages of ADB member countries with respect to mega-trends and constraints.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 27, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.