GEF Monthly Luncheon
From Assets to Networks: Weather, Exposure and Risk in an Interconnected Energy System
Speaker:
Dr Rodney Garrard
Geo Energy Advisor, Arch Insurance
Presentation Title
From Assets to Networks: Weather, Exposure and Risk in an Interconnected Energy System
Synopsis
Traditional approaches to risk assessment were developed for a world in which assets could largely be evaluated in isolation, and catastrophe risk was primarily a function of geographic accumulation. Today's energy system is fundamentally different. Electricity grids, natural gas networks, data centres, communications systems, water resources and industrial infrastructure are becoming increasingly interconnected, creating new pathways through which disruption can propagate across sectors and regions.
As the industry moves beyond asset risk and accumulation risk toward understanding network risk, weather variability, infrastructure concentration and system interdependence are becoming critical drivers of resilience and loss. Drawing on examples ranging from major grid failures to the rapid growth of energy-intensive data centres, Rodney Garrard explores why the next frontier in risk assessment lies not in understanding individual assets, but in understanding the networks and dependencies that connect them.
Key Themes
1. Weather as a System-Wide Risk Driver
How extreme weather increasingly affects multiple infrastructure systems simultaneously, creating cascading impacts across electricity, gas, water, communications and industrial networks.
2. From Asset Risk to Network Risk
Why the greatest vulnerabilities increasingly emerge not within individual assets, but in the dependencies and interconnections linking modern energy, digital and industrial systems.
3. The Next Generation of Risk Assessment
Why traditional approaches based on asset and accumulation risk must evolve to better capture infrastructure concentration, system interdependence and the behaviour of complex networks under stress.
Location:
12:00–14:00, Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Hotel d’Angleterre, Quai du Mont-Blanc 17, 1201 Geneva
Speaker
Dr Rodney Garrard
Geo Energy Advisor, Arch Insurance
Speaker Biography
Dr Rodney Garrard is a geologist and energy risk specialist with more than 25 years of international experience spanning energy, geoscience and insurance.
He began his career in the upstream oil and gas industry, working across five continents on subsurface characterisation, drilling, and risk assessment. He later contributed to Switzerland's geological disposal programme for radioactive waste before joining Arch Insurance as Geo Energy Advisor.
In his current role, he advises on energy transition technologies, infrastructure resilience, and emerging risks. He is also a regular writer and speaker on energy and risk-related topics and the author of the forthcoming book Rock Hard Truths.