At the evening event held as part of the E&M Energy Manager Conference in Berlin, BDEW Chief Executive Kerstin Andreae was named “Energy Manager of the Year.”
The E&M Energy Manager Conference took place in Berlin on September 25. During an evening event, the prestigious “Energy Manager of the Year” award was presented to Kerstin Andreae, Chairwoman of the Executive Board of the German Energy Association (BDEW). For more than 20 years, the media publisher Energie & Management (E&M) has been honoring outstanding personalities from the energy industry with this award.
The laudator, Ingbert Liebing, CEO of the Association of Municipal Companies (VKU), emphasized the growing unity among the associations, which face common challenges. The coronavirus pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the resulting energy price crisis have particularly contributed to this. Both associations have succeeded in maintaining their own identities while still cooperating where this strengthens their persuasiveness. Andreae has played a major role in this successful cooperation, he praised.
This cooperation has also proven its worth vis-à-vis the EU and the Federal Network Agency in order to better assert the interests of the industry. But even when positions differed, everyone showed respect for the other side, Liebing emphasized. Andreae's personality, her clear vision with an unwavering focus on climate neutrality, coupled with realism about what is currently possible, are what make her so successful. The energy managers in attendance gave her a warm round of applause.
In her acceptance speech, Kerstin Andreae said she was accepting the award on behalf of her industry and its member companies. She said the energy industry was enormously meaningful, especially for her as a member of the Green Party since 1990. As a member of the Bundestag, she said her goal had always been to combine economics and ecology. “We need a consensus that we want the energy transition,” she appealed.
In doing so, she said, it was important to look beyond particular interests. Currently, reducing bureaucracy was the most important thing in order to move forward more quickly. It was important to trust the market, but to flank it with appropriate guidelines. “Incentivizing investors means enabling returns,” Andreae said, addressing the regulators.
It is also important to continue to engage public opinion, because the energy transition can only be implemented with the support of the population. To this end, hydrogen must be promoted as a solution for preserving industry, climate protection must be explained as a worthwhile investment, and resilience through renewable energies must be explained. “The Green Deal is becoming a Security Deal to make us less dependent on autocrats!” said Andreae to applause.
The award goes to Kerstin Andreae, the first association manager to receive it. The experts on the jury were impressed by how she has guided the BDEW through turbulent times in recent years. Since the end of Russian pipeline gas supplies, she has made a decisive contribution to reorganizing the gas supply in Germany. She is particularly committed to restructuring the heat supply, with a focus on the targeted expansion and promotion of municipal heating networks.
Under her leadership, the BDEW has continued to develop. A key challenge remains striking a balance between large energy companies, municipal utilities, and local suppliers across the entire value chain – from generation and trading to networks and distribution.
For Professor Christian Held, partner at the law firm Becker Büttner Held and member of the jury, Andreae has so far proven to have a lucky hand in leading the most important association in the German energy industry. Dr. Christof Spangenberg, managing director of m3 management consulting GmbH and also a member of the jury, explains that Andreae “does what is feasible and remains realistic and pragmatic without losing sight of long-term goals.”
The “Energy Manager of the Year” award was established more than two decades ago by Helmut Sendner, founder of Energie & Management. It recognizes outstanding achievements in the field of sustainable energy management. The award is sponsored by the specialist publisher Energie und Management, the consulting firm m3 management consulting GmbH, and the law firm Becker Büttner Held. Further information can be found on the Energy Manager of the Year website.
