The Energy Program (Institute for Energy Economics – IDEE/FB) was implemented in the year 1978, as a follow-up to the work started in 1967 by the Energy Group of the Bariloche Foundation Natural Resources and Energy Department.

Its aim is the development of basic and applied research activities, training, dissemination and technical assistance in the field of economics, energy planning and policy and its relation to the social and environmental dimensions. In order to assess the role of energy systems in their articulation with sustainable development, the various aspects of the topic are approached by a multi- and inter-disciplinary group made up of professionals in several branches of science and technology.

The Energy Program approaches the situation in Argentina, Latin America and the Caribbean, and other developing countries within the global socio-economic, political and energy context. The conclusions of the research and technical assistance activities are published and shared in seminars and workshops which are regularly held, and in the context of the Foundation Training Programs.

In the training area, the activities carried out by IDEE/FB have had a remarkable role in Latin America and the Caribbean as from the implementation of the four-month Latin American Postgraduate Course in Energy and Environment Economics and Policy. Thirty such courses have been offered annually since 1969, until it eventually became a Master’s degree in 1999. This instance has been enhanced by the participation of professionals from public and private energy companies, as well as universities and planning bodies from all Latin American and Caribbean countries, and has trained and developed capacities throughout the region, also as a consequence of the permanent updating of its curricula along the lines of the new developments of knowledge and instruments for energy analysis. Over 600 professionals have thus specialized in energy matters along three decades. The course has been maintained, expanded and technically updated thanks to the sponsorship and financial support of the Inter American Development Bank, the European Union, the Organization of American States and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Argentine Republic.

Also, a course granting a Master’s Degree in Energy and Environment Economics and Policy (MEPEA) started in 1999. This is held in the city of Neuquén, jointly with the School of Economics and Administration of Comahue National University, in the context of a Framework Agreement with that Institution.

Several training initiatives have been launched at the institutional level involving short in-person courses as well as courses held in other countries of the region in the context of agreements signed with local Universities. One such short course is the Workshop-Seminar on Energy Policy for Sustainable Development and the LEAP Model for regional professionals. The objective of this course is to provide the theoretical and methodological background needed to support and instrument prospective techniques meant as a tool for the formulation of energy policies for sustainable development. Also, a course has been held in the Bariloche headquarters since 2006 on regulation and tariffs. This course is meant to be a critical presentation of the theoretical concepts on which regulatory principles are based in relation to energy sector industries, as well as of the criteria and methods used to determine tariffs and costs at the electricity and natural gas transportation and distribution stages. Such training activities have recently been held in Asuncion, Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala and El Salvador.

IDEE/FB researches have always held postgraduate teaching positions in public and private universities in Argentina and abroad. Some such universities are the Buenos Aires University, Universidad del Sur, Comahue National University, Salta Catholic University, Argentine Catholic University, Asuncion University, Colombia National University, Universidad Autónoma de Mexico, University of Calgary, among others.

The Energy Program is a member of the GNESD Network (Global Network on Energy for Sustainable Development, <http://www.gnesd.org/>), facilitated by Risoe National Lboratory, Technical University of Denmark – DTU, financed by UNEP/UNDP, and also with the support of the countries in question. Network members total twenty academic research centers from all the continents, which do research into energy access, development of renewable fuels and aspects related to energy security, among others. IDEE/FB is also a member of an international initiative called COMMEND (Community for Energy, Environment and Development, run by SEI-US), which has the financial support of the government of Holland and aims at creating capacities in the field of energy planning and at providing support in the use of energy models http://www.energycommunity.org/. Besides, the Program has also become a LA&C correspondent body for REN 21 (Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century), whose Secretariat is in Paris, sponsored by GTZ and UNEP and assisted by IEA. REN 21 aims at developing policies for the promotion of renewable fuels in industrialized and developing countries. (http://www.ren21.net/). It is also a member of the REEEP Network (Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership), which has more than 200 partners representing 36 governments, companies and NGOs involved in the promotion of Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency. REEEP is, in turn, financed by eleven governments of the EU: Austria, Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the USA and the United Kingdom (http://www.reeep.org).

The Energy Program has signed framework cooperation agreements with several public and private institutions, among which are Argentine and foreign government institutions, as well as private and public universities. In the context of those framework agreements, other more specific agreements are signed enabling the development of research, technical assistance and training activities, as well as the implementation of internships.