CNE holds seminar for journalists as preamble to ‘Black Start: Future of Energy Summit’
Journalists from different media outlets in Puerto Rico participated in a seminar hosted by the Center for a New Economy (CNE) on the concepts and changing language used in the media coverage of the energy sector.
The activity was designed in response to the abundant media
coverage on the direction of the transition of the electricity system and
climate change.
During the seminar, CNE’s Director of Public Policy, Sergio
Marxuach, talked about the labyrinths of the energy system transition in Puerto
Rico and announced the “Black Start: Future of Energy Summit” that will take
place Mar. 21.
“In Puerto Rico we’re not starting from zero after the blackout
caused by Hurricane María, but we are looking at an energy system whose
renovation would cost approximately $15 billion, which means that we better
make sure we make the right decisions,” said Marxuach.
For their part, planners Wanda I. Crespo Acevedo and Luis Jorge
Rivera Herrera presented a “101-102 on Climate Change in Puerto Rico,” providing
the journalists with a narrative that can be transmitted to the general public
about a very complex topic, which is tied to energy and other aspects of daily
life.
Marxuach explained that since 2005, CNE has been analyzing the
energy system in Puerto Rico and developing public policy to make it more
robust, sustainable and suited to modern tendencies.
“We should take advantage of this situation, the near total
destruction of the energy system in Puerto Rico and the technological advances
in this sector, to bring the island’s electrical system to the 21st century. In
other words, we should use the ‘black start’, not to rebuild the energy system,
but to make a big leap into the energetic future,” he said.
“For the energy sector to successfully transition into a new model
of doing business it will be necessary to develop a new vision of the system,
change laws and regulations, update the transmission and distribution grids and
promote the efficient use of energy by consumers. This is a difficult task, but
fortunately there is an abundance of resources to provide guidance to
legislators, regulators and companies as they go through this process,” added
Marxuach.
In tune with ‘black start’, or total blackout, the journalists that attended the seminar participated in a simulated coverage imagining the challenges posed by another total blackout.
The exchange of ideas that will take place at Black Start 2019,
will include CNN’s Anderson Cooper as a moderator and Lorraine Akiba, President
and CEO of LHA Ventures; Fred Krupp, President of the Environmental Defense
Fund; and Jeremy Rifkin, president of The Foundation on Economic Trends as
keynote speakers.
