From the 31st May to 2nd June 2022, the Energy Chamber of Trinidad & Tobago held its first in-person T&T Energy Conference since the onset of the global pandemic in 2020. The event was held as a hybrid event with both in-person and virtual streams and networking opportunities, while the traditionally well attended trade show also ran alongside the conference.
The total number of delegates surpassed the pre-covid January 2020 edition of the conference, with 540 people registered with an “all-access pass” and a further 198 attending virtually. This put the total number of conference delegates in the 2022 conference at 738, breaking the previous peak year for attendance in 2014 (though back then all delegates attended physically). This does not include the fifty specially invited guests, mainly diplomats and Government Ministers, who attended the formal opening and closing sessions.
Sponsorship support for the T&T Energy Conference 2022 was also very strong with six platinum sponsors, seven gold sponsors and twelve silver sponsors, in addition to technology partners, media partners and workshop sponsors.
The trade show was a little smaller than in 2020, with 61 exhibitors. Covid related concerns about overcrowding meant that the Energy Chamber prioritised entry for potential customers, investors, or partners rather than opening up entry to everybody. Initial feedback is that this was well received by exhibitors, who commented on the quality of their interactions. There were 550 additional visitors to the trade show, with no secondary school student visitors as in previous years.
The 2022 edition of the T&T Energy Conference featured some new additions, including the inaugural Innovation and Technology Challenge and an art exhibition. The conference also included a revamped Awards Programme that attracted a lot of attention, not least for the beautiful and unique awards given to the winners.
In 2023, the T&T Energy Conference will return to its usual January slot, with the Conference kicking off on Monday 23rd January 2023. The Energy Chamber will continue to use a hybrid structure for the T&T Energy Conference, building on the lessons learnt from delivering virtual events in 2020 and 2021.
The Energy Chamber is planning for a bumper trade show and to return to the pre-pandemic partnership with the Heroes Foundation to introduce students to the industry.