Within hours after polls closed on June 12, Iran's Interior Ministry announced that President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad had been reelected in a landslide. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei initially endorsed the result but later asked for an inquiry into allegations that the election was rigged. The speed of the vote count, Ahmadi-Nejad's consistent and big lead throughout the counting, and the huge turnout were among developments that shocked many Iranians and outside observers.

The 2009 economic downturn has proved to be the most challenging since World War II both globally and in Europe. While the power sector is less exposed to the economic contraction than most industrial sectors, it is not a safe harbor.

Global energy demand has fallen sharply, leading to excess oil, gas, and power capacity in most regions. When economies begin to recover from the recession, more direct government involvement and intervention, combined with a push toward more energy efficiency and lower carbon fuels, will pose new and complex challenges for energy companies, requiring recalibration in both strategies and investment plans.

The climate change debate has shifted from questions over climate science to the cost of reducing emissions. Although clean energy technologies show potential for substantial cost reductions in the future, the path to lower costs will be uneven and winding.