Spotlight on Ilaria Conti
To kick off the 1st edition of our online course on the Regulation of Gas Markets we interviewed one of the course directors, Ilaria Conti, to shine a light on her journey into the Gas Sector.
Ilaria Conti is Head of Gas at the Florence School of Regulation. Her main fields of expertise concern EU institutional relations and EU electricity and gas regulation.
Ilaria, why did you choose to work in the the energy sector? Can you tell us about the journey into your field?
I started working in the energy sector, by total coincidence. I had no previous experience or background on energy issues at all, but I was accepted for an internship at EFET (European Federation of Energy Traders) in Brussels, as a Communication officer. In that position, I learnt a lot and became more and more interested in the energy world and market dynamics. So much that after a couple of years I moved on to the regulatory and policy side of the association and was able to deepen more and more my knowledge in these fields.
After EFET and before joining FSR, I was in charge of Regulatory Affairs for an Italian gas trading company.
What would you consider a major achievement of your career?
In 2009 I founded the first EFET Task Force Italy, a working group with representatives of EU energy companies, following the development of the Italian electricity and gas markets.
It was initially a group of less than 10 members, but over the years it grew and gained more and more interest. TF Italy quickly became a well-recognised partner and interlocutor in the Italian energy sector and it still exists today. I truly dedicated all my energy and passion for this project and it was great to see it growing and collecting results over the years.
What has been your favorite project?
The one I’m currently working on the FSR Gas area!
It’s a great opportunity and, at the same time, a big responsibility to be in charge of developing a new workstream and area overarched by the Florence School. The FSR Gas area was born only at the beginning of this year, but the feedback and the results achieved are already extremely positive. This, also thanks to a great teamwork and the presence of a solid network of experts. In particular, I enjoyed the creation from scratch of the first online course on gas, which has just been launched.
The environment here at FSR is very creative and I have a few more initiatives in mind that I hope it will be possible to realise!
What advice would you give other women who are thinking about working in the energy sector?
Do not be scared by the impressive number of men vs women working in the energy sector, something is changing and intelligent men are well aware of the value added that gender balance can bring to a company or institution.
There are no “women topics”or “men topics”, just fields of work, study or research to which you can contribute with your passion and dedication!
What are some key issues that must be addressed in the field?
The energy sector is a constantly evolving one. Market design changes because it reflects the evolution of macro-dynamics at economic, legal and political level.
I believe it’s important to ensure that there’s enough transparency on price formation dynamics and on how tariffs are calculated.
Regulation and politics should cooperate towards this end, mainly for the ultimate benefit of final consumers — who have no direct access to this information but they do need energy to survive. So there’s a moral duty, I think, to ensure that they can access and use this energy at the fair price.
What does the future of the energy sector hold?
We’re in the middle of a total shift of paradigm — which has implied and will keep on implying a complete re-thinking of the relations between the various actors in the market. The traditional top-down model of generation and consumption has been totally questioned, with consumers assuming a more and more active role in the energy market and having different needs which the market will need to take into account.
So if I look forward to the future of Europe I see a greener, more decentralised energy sector, with consumers at the centre of it and companies with more flexible business models. A sector where innovation and service-sharing will be the keywords to market success.
More by Ilaria Conti:
Ilaria Conti conducts an exclusive interview with Klaus-Dieter Borchardt (Director, DG ENER) on the future of the EU energy market.
FSR Topic of the Month Editorials:
Podcasts:
Publications:
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