ACER thanks Dr Jochen Penker, Chair of the Administrative Board, and welcomes Mr Michel Thiollière as the new Chair

Today marks a changing of the guard for the ACER Administrative Board, with Michel Thiollière taking over from Dr Jochen Penker as the Administrative Board Chair.

Mr Thiollière (France) was formerly a Commissioner at the French energy regulatory authority (CRE) and former president of MEDREG.

Jochen Penker has served as Member of the Administrative Board of the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) from 2014 and as Chair for a mandate of two years, from December 2019 until 27 January 2022. The Administrative Board is the governing body of the Agency.

The incoming Administrative Board Chair, Mr Thiollière said:

“I am honoured to take over the lead of the Agency’s Administrative Board at this exciting time of pursuing Europe’s ambitious energy goals”. 

During Dr Penker’s chairmanship of the Administrative Board, ACER’s mandate was extended as a consequence of the 2019 Clean Energy Package (including an increase in work, more decisions and appeals), and Mr Christian Zinglersen was appointed as the new ACER Director.

Welcoming the new Chair and paying tribute to the outgoing Chair, Christian Zinglersen, ACER’s Director said:

“I look forward to working with Mr Thiollière whom I’m sure will show great leadership of the Board like his predecessor. Dr Penker, in chairing the Agency’s Administrative Board, has contributed to ACER’s successes on a number of fronts be it from the smooth Agency-wide work continuity during the pandemic, to helping to redress the Agency’s understaffing, and through to increased visibility about ACER’s added value in the broader context of the European Green Deal. His integrity and expertise have been key in a period where the Agency’s decision-making powers have increased and market integration issues were at stake.”

Today, at his last Administrative Board meeting, Dr Jochen Penker said:

“It has been my honour to serve ACER’s Administrative Board as Chair. These two years have been challenging. We adapted to running meetings online. We managed finally to establish the communication strategy of the Agency, something that has been for far too long in the pipeline. We embraced the new mandates from the Clean Energy Package. We welcomed the new Director. Working together, we helped shape the future of the Agency. ACER is now on a better financial footing for its market monitoring which is key to the integrity of Europe’s wholesale energy markets. It was a journey with a shared goal of contributing to ACER’s success and in setting the scene for a modern green organisation and European authority. We initiated the Greening Action Plan. Today, ACER is a frontrunner in sustainability management among EU Agencies."

ACER’s Director, the other Members of the Administrative Board and the Chair of the Board of Regulators expressed their gratitude to Dr Penker for his hard work over the past two years. They  warmly welcomed the new Chair, Mr Thiollière, congratulated Dr Spiridonovs for his reappointment as Member and welcomed Mr Bartuska as new Member and Ms Čelić (Croatia), Ms Ludwiniak (Poland), and Mr Kaderják (Hungary) as new Alternate Members.

Find out more about the role of the Administrative Board and its Members.