The European Commission is inviting applications to appoint new members and alternates of ACER’s Board of Appeal. Successful candidates will serve on the Board for its next mandate, starting on 18 October 2026.

Applications are open until 31 March 2026 (midnight Brussels time).

See the call for interest for details and instructions on how to apply.

About the Board of Appeal

ACER’s Board of Appeal operates as an independent body to address complaints lodged against ACER decisions. It is part of ACER but at the same time independent from its administrative and regulatory structure. As such, its members and alternates act independently and in the public interest. 

The Board is composed by six members and six alternates serving for a 5-year mandate (renewable once). Members and alternates are selected among current or former senior staff of the national regulatory authorities (NRAs), competition authorities or other national or EU institutions with relevant experience in the energy sector.​

In August 2025, ACER has received a proposal from Nominated Electricity Market Operators (NEMOs) to amend the harmonised maximum and minimum clearing price (HMMCP) methodologies for the EU day-ahead and intraday market coupling.

On 4 February 2026, ACER has approved NEMOs’ proposal.

Why is market coupling important?

Before market coupling was introduced in the EU, electricity and cross-zonal transmission grid capacity had to be purchased separately. Today, market coupling (of day-ahead and intraday markets) allocates scarce cross-zonal transmission grid capacity efficiently by coupling wholesale electricity markets across the EU, while taking into account physical grid constraints.

What are the methodologies about?

The HMMCP methodologies (first approved by ACER in 2017 and amended in 2023) set the maximum and minimum price limits in the EU single day-ahead and intraday electricity markets. 

Established under the Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management (CACM) Regulation, the methodologies also define the harmonised automatic price adjustment mechanism and specify how it is triggered when the applicable price limits are reached in the day-ahead and intraday markets. 

Why amend the methodologies and what’s new?

ACER amended the methodologies to clarify how the automatic price adjustment mechanism applies in rare market conditions.

In case of partial decoupling within a bidding zone where multiple NEMOs operate but not all are decoupled, the bidding zone will remain in market coupling, potentially with low liquidity. The amended methodologies clarify that, in such cases, the harmonised automatic price adjustment mechanism cannot be triggered. 

What are the next steps? 

Following this ACER Decision, NEMOs are required to promptly implement the amendments. 

On 3 December 2025, the national regulatory authorities (NRAs) of the Continental Europe Synchronous Area submitted to ACER a joint request for a six-month extension to decide on the transmission system operators’ (TSOs’) proposal. This concerned the minimum activation period that frequency containment reserve providers with limited energy reservoirs must ensure in order to remain available during the alert state.

On 30 January 2026, with its Decision 01/2026, ACER granted the extension requested by the NRAs, who now have until 17 June 2026 to reach an agreement on the TSOs’ proposal. 

The countries of Continental Europe Synchronous Area are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

What is it about?

EU’s electric power systems operate at the frequency of 50 Hz. Any imbalance between electricity supply and demand causes the frequency to deviate. If not corrected quickly, this can lead to blackouts.

Frequency containment reserve is the first line of automatic response to such deviations. It is activated within seconds to stabilise the frequency and is provided continuously by power-generating or consuming assets (like batteries, hydro plants or demand response systems). 

Some of these providers, especially batteries or demand-side resources, have limited energy reservoirs and can only respond for a short duration. The System Operation Regulation therefore requires a minimum activation time to ensure these resources remain available during the alert state. 

ACER has published its Rules of Procedure setting out how it will conduct cross-border investigations into suspected energy market abuse. 

Why do the new rules for cross-border probes matter?

Europe has an EU-wide framework (called REMIT) to detect and deter abuse in wholesale energy markets. Breaches of REMIT are enforced at national level by energy regulators. However, market manipulation and abuse often transcend national borders and cases can be sophisticated.

In 2024, EU legislators updated the REMIT framework giving ACER additional tasks, including the mandate to investigate cross-border cases.

ACER’s expanded role helps build a stronger regulatory framework, promoting openness and confidence in EU energy markets, and strengthens trust that wholesale energy prices are transparent and fair. 

What is the scope of ACER’s cross-border investigatory mandate?

ACER can investigate REMIT cases that affect two or more countries, including breaches of:

• prohibitions on insider trading and market manipulation;
• obligations to disclose inside information and to report data; and
• obligations on persons professionally arranging and executing transactions (PPAETs).

When investigating cases with a cross-border dimension, ACER may carry out searches of premises, request information, ask questions of individuals and take statements. 

REMIT enforcement remains the responsibility of national regulatory authorities (NRAs), not ACER.

ACER’s Rules of Procedure for REMIT investigations

ACER’s new Rules of Procedure establish the procedural framework within which ACER carries out its investigatory tasks under REMIT. Their publication ensures legal certainty, due process, fairness and efficiency. The rules set out the main stages of ACER’s investigations, the related decision-making and the rights and obligations of the persons concerned. 

These rules mark an important milestone. As ACER and NRAs continue to work closely together, they will play a key role in ensuring robust, consistent and legally sound enforcement across borders.

What’s next? 

• ACER moves into action on cross-border investigations from the second half of 2026.
• The annual REMIT workshop, organised jointly by ACER and the European Commission, will take place in the summer.
• ACER’s upcoming public consultation on REMIT transaction reporting will gather input from market participants to help shape practical guidance under the revised REMIT framework.
• New guidance on data reporting and updated LNG market data practices will be introduced, following the adoption of REMIT secondary legislation.
• Stakeholders will continue to receive updates and support through online resources.

Have you noticed a potential breach of REMIT rules?

Report it through our notification platform.

Today, ACER publishes its Opinion on the Integrated Model report for EU electricity, gas and hydrogen infrastructure planning, submitted in October 2025 by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) and for Gas (ENTSOG) and prepared with support from the European Network of Network Operators for Hydrogen (ENNOH).

The Trans-European Energy Infrastructure (TEN-E) Regulation requires ENTSO-E and ENTSOG to jointly develop a consistent and progressively integrated model to support coordinated infrastructure planning across the three sectors (electricity, gas and hydrogen), and underpin future EU-level Ten-Year Network Development Plans (TYNDPs).

Why is an integrated modelling framework needed for EU energy infrastructure planning?

Europe’s energy transition is increasingly blurring the boundaries between electricity, gas and hydrogen systems. Decisions in one sector directly affect infrastructure needs and costs in the others. To address this, EU law requires a shift from isolated, single-sector planning towards more coherent sectoral integration of the modelling governance, processes, tools and data used in electricity, gas and hydrogen network planning.

Such an integrated modelling framework aims to ensure that EU infrastructure plans are based on consistent assumptions, aligned methodologies and comparable cross-sector assessments. It should future-proof planning and inform project-level investment decisions from a system-wide perspective.

What does ACER say about the proposed integrated modelling framework for energy infrastructure planning?

ACER’s Opinion assesses whether the ENTSOs’ submission provides a sufficiently robust basis for more coherent, cross-sector infrastructure planning at EU level.

The report is a useful starting point, with some progress beyond joint scenario development, including the creation of a dedicated cross-sector working group with balanced representation across the three sectors.

However, ACER finds the report does not clarify how the integrated modelling framework will contribute to greater consistency and integration of EU infrastructure planning through concrete milestones. The report falls short in the following areas:

• Cross-sector integration requirements are unclear, leaving implementation discretionary.
• Key integration steps are deferred to a long-term roadmap with vague timelines and under-ambitious actions.
• Stakeholder consultation was limited, with key elements excluded (draft report and roadmap).

As a result, it remains unclear whether the proposed framework will deliver practical improvements in infrastructure needs assessments, investment decision-making or system-wide cost optimisation.

What does ACER recommend?

For better EU infrastructure planning, ACER calls on ENTSO-E and ENTSOG, together with ENNOH, to be more ambitious in their approach to integrated modelling:

• Clearly define assumptions, data and methodologies to be applied consistently across sectors.
• Identify which planning steps require joint cross-sector assessment and which can remain sector-specific.
• Apply shared reference networks and indicators in project-level cost-benefit analyses (CBAs).
• Strengthen consistency in identifying infrastructure gaps.
• Ensure cross-sector needs assessments and harmonised CBA pilots are conducted within the TYNDP 2028 cycle.
• Update the roadmap with more ambitious actions and firmer timelines.
• Conduct a more thorough public consultation on the revised model and roadmap.

ACER expects that consistency in input, assumptions and methodology is already applied in TYNDP 2028, even if some deliverables remain sector-specific.

What are the next steps?

ACER expects ENTSO-E and ENTSOG to implement these recommendations before submitting the report to the European Commission for approval. ACER calls for early and meaningful stakeholder engagement as the integrated modelling framework evolves.

ACER issues today its guidance on the information to be voluntarily submitted for the monitoring of operational reliability performance indicators related to cybersecurity in the electricity sector, under the Cybersecurity Network Code. 

Who is this guidance for?

This guidance is addressed to stakeholders in the electricity sector, including transmission and distribution system operators (TSOs and DSOs), generators, organised markets, nominated electricity market operators (NEMOs) and balancing responsible parties, as well as providers of critical information and communication technology (ICT) services and managed security services.

Why does it matter?

The operational reliability performance indicators for cybersecurity will measure how effectively electricity sector companies protect their digital systems and mitigate cybersecurity risks to cross-border electricity flows. They will track statistical data on high and critical-impact cyber-attacks, reportable cyber-threats and exploited unpatched vulnerabilities.

By submitting the requested data, stakeholders will allow ACER to monitor trends and assess how cybersecurity performance evolves across the EU electricity sector. 

What information is ACER requesting?

ACER is requesting the following statistical information, as defined by the operational reliability performance indicators listed in the guidance:

• annual number of reportable cyber threats;
• annual number of reportable cyber-attacks; and
• annual number of exploited unpatched (zero day) vulnerabilities.

What’s the timeline to submit the information?

Starting in 2027, ACER will open a submission window once every three years. In the first submission window in 2027, ACER will request data for 2026. From 2030 onwards, each submission will cover the three preceding years.

Unless communicated otherwise, the submission window will be open each reporting year from 15 January to 1 March. 

How will the information be submitted?

To facilitate data collection, ACER will provide access to a secure online tool. More detailed instructions will be made available prior to the first submission window.

What are the next steps? 

Looking ahead, ACER will use this collected data (after careful aggregation to protect sensitive information) as an input to its triannual reporting, supporting EU-level monitoring and informing future efforts to strengthen the EU cyber resilience.

Mr Bogdan Chirițoiu takes over as the new Chair of the Administrative Board of the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), and  Mr Tomasz Dąbrowski as the Vice-Chair. 

They were elected by consensus by the Administrative Board on 11 December 2025. The term of office of the ACER Administrative Board Chair and Vice-Chair is two years, renewable once, effective from 22 January 2026.

Mr Volker Zuleger, ACER Director ad interim, welcomed Mr Chirițoiu and Mr Dąbrowski to their new roles. He pointed to their understanding of oversight and governance issues of an EU agency, gained from serving as members of the ACER Administrative Board (and in Mr Chirițoiu’s case as Vice-Chair). Such first-hand experiences of ACER will be invaluable to the Administrative Board at a time of significant change in ACER’s leadership. An immediate task is the recruitment of the new ACER Director (in 2026) to head up and run the EU Agency. 

Mr Zuleger expressed his deep appreciation to the outgoing Administrative Board Chair, Ms Edit Herczog, for her commitment as Chair for the past 2 years and previously as the Vice-Chair. 

Mr Chirițoiu is Chairman of the Romanian Competition Council, the National Competition Authority since 2009. He holds a PhD in Economics. His professional career includes posts as State Councillor and as a university lecturer.

Mr Dąbrowski is Head of Legal Services at Zarządca Rozliczeń S.A., the state agency in charge of disbursement of payments under the state aid schemes for the power sector in Poland. He has deep knowledge of the energy sector including having served in Poland’s Ministry of Energy.

Changes in the Administrative Board Members and Alternates

In addition to Ms Herczog, the longstanding Board member Mr Jurij Spiridonovs and alternate member Ms Britta Thomsen are leaving the Board, while the mandate of alternate member Mr Attila Nyikos is also coming to an end. The European Parliament has appointed Ms Josianne Cutajar as a new member and Mr Markus Pieper as an alternate; their mandate started on 22 January 2026. 

The Council of the EU appointed two members and three alternates. It reappointed Mr Václav Bartuška as a member for a second four-year term, as well as Mr Atanas Georgiev and Mr Boris Makšijan as alternate members for a second term. The Council also appointed Mr Jorge Sousa as a member and Mr Oliver Púček as an alternate member for the first time. Their mandates start on 28 January 2026.

ACER welcomes the Administrative Board Chair and Vice-Chair and new members/alternates while paying tribute to the outgoing ones.

More on ACER’s Administrative Board

The Administrative Board is ACER’s governing body. It appoints its main bodies, including the Director, adopts the annual work programme and its multi-annual programme. It also plays a central role in establishing the Agency’s budget.

The Administrative Board is composed of 9 members and 9 alternates, appointed by the European institutions. 2 members are appointed by the European Commission, 2 by the European Parliament and 5 by the Council of the European Union (and the same composition for the alternates).

Read more about ACER’s Administrative Board Members and Alternates.

For more on ACER governance and the roles of the different bodies, see the Agency's organisation and bodies.