Energy and the Environment
Energy growth is directly linked to well-being and prosperity across the globe. Meeting the growing demand for energy in a safe and environmentally responsible manner is a key global challenge. Both the Economic and Operations Research disciplines conduct research and evaluate public policies in the oil, gas, coal and electricity markets.
The traditional lines of research in economics and finance, which to a large degree are based on the development and analysis of highly stylised, analytically tractable models, are not always well-suited to study the problems in energy markets. The objective of the first line of research in this area is to develop and implement agent-based simulation models to investigate and improve efficiency of electricity (and financial) markets. The second line of research makes use of economic and operation research techniques to study gas markets.
I have organised and delivered executive training courses for energy regulators both in the UK and in several countries in Africa. Thanks to the funding of the World Bank, and as part of the activities of the African Forum for Utility Regulators, we have organised several courses on energy and water tariff design, environmental economics, and public private partnerships for regulators across Africa. In the UK, I set up and delivered training courses for regulators and government officials, such as the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) and the Department for Business, Entreprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR).