Enel Group's Viviana Vitto sees 'huge scope' for utilities within the EU Green Deal

For Viviana Vitto, Head of Market Studies and Strategic Analysis at Enel Global Infrastructure and Networks, “the scope of the utility” within the Green Deal and the COP26 policy and environmental frames “is huge, and it is also a big challenge since the utilities are responsible for a big portion of the mission, as well as of finding a solution”.

According to Vitto’s expert opinion, given her years in the sector and in particular in utilities, finding this solution has been a big part of the utilities’ focus in the past decades.

And guess what, it has been mostly about deploying the renewables technology to the electricity grid. And about learning how to accept green energy as “the only option”.

Another focus, both for the sector in general and Enel in particular, is the end recipient of the electricity, the consumer. Viviana believes that “the consumer will have a more and more active role” in the near future.

“Starting from the consumer and the customer in driving the change and any type of process and any type of design since the very beginning, is essential”.

When it comes to financing the grid, Vitto says that it should be “a combined effort”. It is not for the system operator or the individual governments or even the EU Commission (when it comes to Europe) to finance our energy system alone, but in collaboration. After all, as Vitto says: “the grid operator is a regulated business”.

When the conversation touches upon the global distribution and Enel’s presence in two continents (Europe and South America), Vitto points out that “the focus is to reach the same level of efficiency for all our customers”. That is, the innovations that Enel is pioneering are accessible to all no matter in what part of the world they live in.

Watch the full interview to also hear about Enel’s own strategy, what Vitto would like to see from policymakers, and why she believes that Europe is a pioneer when it comes to Green Recovery.

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