On 3 March 2011, the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) will take up its duties.
The basis for ACER’s establishment is the Regulation 713/2009 of the European Parliament and the Council which is part of the Third Energy Liberalisation Package.
Initially located in Brussels, Belgium, ACER will have a staff of around 50 people, and will have its designated seat in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
ACER will have an Administrative Board, a Regulatory Board and a Board of Appeal. A Director, who will be appointed by the Administrative Board after a favourable opinion from the Regulatory Board, will represent the agency. Alberto Pototschnig was appointed the first Director of ACER for the term of five years.
ACER will complement and coordinate the work of national regulatory authorities, participate in the creation of European network rules, take, under certain conditions, binding individual decisions on terms and conditions for access and operational security for cross border infrastructure, give advice on various energy related issues to the European institutions, and monitor and report developments in the European energy markets.
