On the properness of $p$-conformal energy on the Teichmüller space of a Riemann surface

We establish that the $p$-conformal energy, $p\ge 1$, defined by the $L^p$-norms of the distortion of Sobolev mappings, is a proper functional on the Teichmüller space of Riemann surfaces of a fixed genus. This result is an application of a result herein identifying explicitly both the unique extremal mappings of finite distortion between hyperbolic annuli of given modulus, and their $p$-conformal energy.