CEER President Pedro Verdelho elected Chair of the International Confederation of Energy Regulators
CEER President takes on new global leadership role at the IX World Forum on Energy Regulation
Pedro Verdelho, President of the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER), has been elected Chair of the International Confederation of Energy Regulators (ICER). The announcement was made this week at the IX World Forum on Energy Regulation (WFER), held in Tbilisi, Georgia, marking a significant moment for CEER on the international stage.
WFER is the leading international conference on energy regulation, held once every three years in its current format. The event brings together key players from the energy industry, high-level decision-makers, academics and regulators from around the world to discuss strategic regulatory approaches.
The Forum takes place within the framework of ICER, a voluntary framework for cooperation among the world's energy regulators, which aims to improve the design and implementation of public policy in the energy sector through the exchange of information and best practice. CEER has always played an active role within this framework and Mr. Verdelho’s election as Chair reflects CEER's continued influence in shaping global regulatory cooperation.
During WFER, ICER elected its new leadership for the coming term:
- Chair: Pedro Verdelho, President of the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) and President of the Board of the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE), Portugal.
- Vice Chair: Sandoval Feitosa, President of the Ibero-American Association of Energy Regulatory Entities (ARIAE) and Director General of the National Electricity Agency (ANEEL), Brazil.
- Vice Chair: Annegret Groebel, former President of CEER (2019–2026), head of the International Relations Department of the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA), Germany.
Mr Verdelho is President of CEER since 1 August 2026. He was appointed President of ERSE in November 2021, having served as a Member of ERSE's Board of Directors since 2019.
Commenting on his new role, Pedro Verdelho said: "I seek to further strengthen ICER as a truly global platform for cooperation, providing practical value to its members through knowledge-sharing, capacity building and the exchange of regulatory best practice. I also want to reinforce cooperation among regional regulatory associations in addressing the interconnected challenges of the energy transition, affordability, security of supply, market resilience and strong, independent regulation."
Dr Groebel, who led CEER as President from January 2019 to July 2026, has worked for the German regulator BNetzA for over 25 years, where she currently heads the International Relations department. She has served as co-Vice Chair of ICER since 2020, continuing her long-standing engagement with international regulatory cooperation.
Mr Feitosa is the current President of ARIAE and has served as Director General of ANEEL since August 2022. He is a career civil servant, having joined ANEEL through a competitive public examination as a Regulation Specialist in 2005.
The new leadership team extended its thanks to outgoing Chair Dave Morton for his dedication to ICER: "The members of ICER are grateful for the leadership of outgoing Chair Dave Morton. He was instrumental in keeping the organisation focused on its mission and promoted the establishment of new working groups on two critical issues: Regulatory Independence and Electricity Reliability."
The new leadership term begins at the conclusion of WFER IX and runs through WFER X.
Media Contact:
Ms Justyna Wojtowicz
Tel: +44 79 64 74 74 82
E-mail: justyna.wojtowicz@ceer.eu
