ERSE has advisory skills.

According to its Statutes, these competences assume a threefold aspect:

• Administrative Cooperation

ERSE must provide support, in particular by issuing opinions, to government entities, in particular the Competition Authority (Autoridade da Concorrência), the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology, the Directorate-General for Consumers and the Securities Market Commission (Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários).

• Judicial cooperation

ERSE issues the opinions requested by the courts, in particular on matters of a regulatory nature.

• Cooperation with the Government and the Assembly of the Republic

ERSE shall, at the request of the Assembly of the Republic and the Government, give its opinion on legislative or other initiatives concerning its tasks within the regulated sectors.

As a rule, ERSE opinions are not binding and must be issued within 30 days from the date of the request.