Th I have a great passion for energy which I like to share with my students. For over 40 years I have worked in the field, starting in oil with ExxonMobil, then as European Energy Consultant with Global Insight, Chief Economist with RWE AG (Germany's largest power company) and now as Honorary Professor for Energy Economics at the Ruhr Uni. I am a member of Germany's association for Energy Intenstive Industry and regularly publish articles in the business press.
Th The lecture course, focussed on modern energy, teaches the following:
Thi • What determines demand for energy in total, by sector and by type
• What determines the wholesale and consumer prices, why there are large differences between countries
• How investment and operational decisions are made based on long-run and short-run costs
• How policy addresses affordability, decarbonization and supply security
• By reference to theory and four EU countries – Germany, Spain, Sweden and Poland
Each lecture begins with a review of the week's energy news to discuss practical examples of how economics and policy are working.
It is an exciting course with dynamic student interaction. The full list of lectures is as follows:
| 20/10/2025 | Introduction to course energy; units; energy importance and issues; role of weather and climate change for S-D and policy | |
| 20/10/2025 | Energy demand by sector; efficiency, weather, economic structure, price elasticity | |
| 27/10/2025 | Energy sources available, properties and how produced; technology. Geographical dimension | |
| 27/10/2025 | CW1 (Coursework 1) | |
| 03/11/2025 | Energy demand by type per sector; alternative plants/cars (Power, buildings, industry, transport); includes decarbonisation | |
| 10/11/2025 | Review CW1 | |
| 10/11/2025 | Energy statistics and KPIs | |
| 10/11/2025 | CW2 | |
| 17/11/2025 | Wholesale costs of different energy sources; DCF etc. | |
| 24/11/2025 | Wholesale costs of different energy sources; DCF etc. | |
| 24/11/2025 | Transmission and storage costs | |
| 24/11/2025 | CW3 | |
| 01/12/2025 | Review CW2 | |
| 01/12/2025 | Taxes and surcharges | |
| 08/12/2025 | Policy for affordability; competition along supply chain | |
| 08/12/2025 | Consumer costs and competition | |
| 15/12/2025 | Policy for supply security | |
| 15/12/2025 | Policy for decarbonisation (1) Different methods and the ETS | |
| 15/12/2025 | CW4 | |
| 12/01/2026 | Review CW4 | |
| 12/01/2026 | Policy for decarbonisation (2) and the future of energy | |
| 26/01/2026 | Revision | |
| 12/02/2026 | KLAUSUR |
- Kursleiter/in: Graham Weale
Semester: WiSe 2025/26