Secretary General of CEDEC Gert de Block wishes Energy Cities “a long life”


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Publication date

May 18, 2015

To a long life for Energy Cities, to a successful cooperation on energy transition!

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, I would like to congratulate Energy Cities for its commendable action in supporting and promoting the local approach in implementing energy and climate policies. CEDEC, as the European Federation of Local Energy Companies, also defends this local perspective and really appreciates the strong partnership we have developed with Energy Cities. Moreover, cities are important stakeholders and often also shareholders for CEDEC member companies.

What was once simple participation in our annual congress has over time evolved into much greater cooperation because of our common interests and the possibilities we have when working together. In this regard, we recently decided to co-organise a number of webinars with the aim of helping local entities to transfer knowledge and best practices related to the energy transition, and of boosting cooperation between them.

In the near future, CEDEC and Energy Cities will come together again to discuss the devolution trend in the energy sector – a process in line with our vision and our members’ interests. It consists of the emergence of new local energy initiatives in which local communities take up a more direct role for providing energy to consumers. This has been for example the case in Germany with the successful re-municipalisation process, through which public and communal ownership in the energy sector has been reinforced. Also, energy cooperatives and citizen projects all over Europe have placed cities and citizens in a new position, allowing them to play an active role in implementing sustainable energy policies.

In short, these few examples show that our common objectives are not only real but also successful. For this reason, I wish Energy Cities a long life in which CEDEC will act together in promoting a city-driven and citizen-supported energy transition.

Happy 25th anniversary!

Gert de Block
Secretary General
CEDEC

Energy Cities is turning 25! 
See our partners’ wishes for this anniversary:
Stefan Scheuer, Coalition for Energy Savings
Paul Voss, EuroHeat & Power
Adrian Joyce, Renovate Europe Campaign

More about Energy Cities’ 25th Anniversary