09/07/2026

The President of the Board of ERSE – the Energy Services Regulatory Authority, Pedro Verdelho, was elected on 8 July 2026 as President of the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER), an association bringing together the national energy regulatory authorities of 38 European countries.

The two-and-a-half-year term will begin on 1 August, succeeding Annegret Groebel, of the German regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), who has chaired CEER since 2019.

The election of Professor Pedro Verdelho also marks ERSE’s election to the leadership of CEER, recognising the role that the Portuguese regulator has played in promoting cooperation between European regulatory authorities and in developing a stronger regulation of the energy sector.

With this election, ERSE becomes the only regulatory authority to assume CEER’s Presidency for a second time. The first Presidency was held by Jorge Vasconcelos, the then President of ERSE and founding President of CEER.

Professor Pedro Verdelho has served as Vice-President of CEER since 2021, having been successively re-elected to that post. Following his election as President, the process of electing a new Vice-President will be initiated to complete the composition of CEER’s Executive Board.

ERSE assumes this responsibility at a particularly significant time for the European energy sector, marked by the challenges of the energy transition, security of supply, market integration and consumer protection, thereby reinforcing its commitment to independent, effective regulation based on cooperation between European regulatory authorities.

Commenting on his election, Professor Pedro Verdelho stated that he accepted this role “with great honour, a sense of responsibility and deep gratitude for the trust that my regulatory counterparts have placed in me and in ERSE”. He also emphasised that “this election also constitutes recognition of the work that ERSE has been carrying out over the years and reinforces our commitment to ever-stronger regulatory cooperation in the service of citizens and the public interest”.

In addition to having served as vice-chair of CEER, Pedro Verdelho has also chaired the Gas Working Groups at CEER and at the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), since 2019. He is also actively involved in other international regulatory cooperation platforms, including the Association of Mediterranean Energy Regulators (MEDREG), where he chairs the Renewables Working Group, and the Ibero-American Association of Energy Regulators (ARIAE), where he leads the Electricity Working Group.

CEER was founded in 2000 and brings together regulatory bodies from 38 European countries. Its objectives are: to develop the energy market for the benefit of consumers; to serve as a forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience amongst regulators; to promote solutions to problems common to all the countries involved, the resolution of which requires coordinated action; and to promote a regulatory vision for energy that ensures the provision of a high-quality public service to all consumers.

Annegret Groebel, Chair of CEER, and Pedro Verdelho, President-elect of CEER