EU member states, partners sign Tallinn e-energy declaration
All 28 member states of the EU, Norway and 14 energy sector associations and companies signed the Tallinn e-Energy Declaration in Estonia on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The declaration is the first comprehensive agreement of goodwill in the world that unites the development of energy and information technology, with the aim of encouraging cooperation between EU member states and the private sector to develop a broad-based strategy for the digitization of energy, according to an Estonian EU presidency press release.
"Today, it is not possible to advance with any topic without putting it into the context of the development of information technology," said Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Kadri Simson. "During [its] presidency of the Council of the European Union, Estonia as an e-state has taken a leading role here. Estonian consumers have received digital solutions in the field of energy rather well, but we are undoubtedly still at the very beginning of a long journey. It is precisely for this reason that it is important today to agree on a common vision for the future and a cooperation format in Europe."
The strategy for digitization in the energy sector, developed in close cooperation with the private sector, allows for the provision of best practices already deployed in member states and the avoidance of compatibility issues betwen various digital platforms.
According to the Estonian minister, a new situation has already emerged, in which people are no longer simply consumers of electricity, but increasingly becoming micro-producers themselves. "It requires new smart solutions, the management of electric power from the network to the household and vice versa," she noted. "Modern appliances allow the consumption of electricity to be planned to a time when it is cheaper on the market."
Simson also pointed out that the EU has taken on ambitious targets for the reduction of CO2 emissions and shared the view that technology will play a pivotal role in meeting these targets.
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Read the full text of the declaration here.
Editor: Aili Vahtla