Governing the Giant: Workshop on Energy and Finance in the Era of Digitalization

Governing the Giant:

Workshop on Energy and Finance in the Era of Digitalisation

We at TILT & TILEC are organising a workshop on “Governing the Giant: The Dawn of the Digital Era in Energy and Finance” on May 31, 2024. 

The workshop explores the existent and emerging regulatory strategies in increasingly digitalised critical infrastructures in energy and finance. Digitalisation poses regulatory challenges and risks related to data privacy, cybersecurity, and consumer vulnerabilities and inequalities. With the rise of digitalisation, online platforms can bypass traditional infrastructure managers, such as grid operators and distribution companies, and directly connect consumers and producers, offering new channels for transactions and interactions resulting in unprecedented complexities. On the flipside, this also raises concerns that rapid digitalisation can exacerbate existing inequities and contribute to the digital divide.

To address these concerns, technological innovation requires legal innovation. Legal innovation should not only address the immediate threats to public values and market interests but also develop a future-proof regulatory framework. Accompanying policy measures require a profound transformation of the approaches to market competition and regulatory intervention. Excessive regulatory interventions can stifle technological advancement, deter investment, and limit competition, potentially hindering the growth and adaptiveness of critical infrastructures. Conversely, inadequate regulation can lead to market concentration, unfair practices, and weak protection of consumers’ and societal interests.

Based on these developments, it is opportune to take stock of existing approaches and reflect on a series of research questions to tackle increasing digitalization in energy and finance in the European Union and its member states. Illustrative questions:

• How do the positive and negative externalities of digitalisation affect public values and policy objectives? 
• How do regulatory strategies for the energy and financial sectors keep pace with digitalisation and ensure the balance between market competition and regulatory intervention while protecting public values?
• What lessons can be drawn from the success or failure of various regulatory strategies? 

The above questions will be central during the workshop and will be discussed on the basis of the presentations and debates among academics, industry representatives, and public authorities.