Event
Online
17.10.2024
14:00 - 18:00

CEER Annual Conference 2024

The CEER Annual Conference recently provided a platform for high-level discussions on existing and emerging energy regulatory issues. This year, the event was held under the theme “Challenges and opportunities for a new energy system.”

Driven by the ongoing transformation of the energy sector, we addressed critical challenges in electricity and infrastructure facing Europe in the upcoming legislative cycles. We also explored the role of decarbonised and low-carbon gases in driving the energy transition, as well as how consumers are coping with recent price surges and adapting to changes in the energy market.

The packed agenda included an interview on energy regulators' independence with leading experts, along with an update on CEER's efforts to promote gender equality in the energy sector during the coffee break.

Speakers – industry leaders, policymakers, researchers, and energy regulators – shared in-depth insights on these pressing issues.

Register Programme
Documents
27.06.2024

Agenda

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Programme

14:00 - 14:05

Opening Remarks & Keynote Speech

Speakers

Annegret Groebel

Annegret Groebel

CEER President, CEER
Biography
Annegret Groebel
CEER President, CEER

Dr Annegret Groebel is Director of International Relations at the German Regulatory Authority for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway (BNetzA). Dr Groebel has worked for BNetzA since 1998. She has been CEER President since January 2019 and was a Vice President of CEER since 2012. She also has chaired the CEER Market Integrity and Transparency (MIT) Working Group since 2013. She is a member of the Board of Regulators of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). Dr Groebel has a PhD in Economics from the University of Mannheim. She is also involved in the work of the Independent Regulators Group (IRG) and the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).

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14:05 - 15:20

Session I: Challenges of the Future Energy System

Speakers

Christine Materazzi-Wagner

Christine Materazzi-Wagner

Electricity Working Group Chair, ACER/CEER
Biography
Christine Materazzi-Wagner
Electricity Working Group Chair, ACER/CEER

Christine Materazzi-Wagner is a graduated electrical engineer and working in the energy sector for more than 25 years. From 2011 to present, she is Director of Electricity at E-Control. Since 2019 she chairs the regulators ACER and CEER Electricity Working Group tackling the regulatory issues of for example, system operation, network development, market integration and adequacy.

Before joining E-Control, Christine covered engineering, development cooperation, research and management consulting tasks, also dealing with power generation, renewables and smart grids.

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Kristian Ruby

Kristian Ruby

Secretary General, Eurelectric
Biography
Kristian Ruby
Secretary General, Eurelectric

Kristian Ruby is a widely recognised expert with a strong communication profile and extensive experience in political affairs. He joined Eurelectric from Wind Europe, where he served as Chief Policy Officer and was in charge of development and implementation of the political strategy.

Prior to this, Ruby worked as a journalist and served seven years as a public servant in the Danish Ministries of Environment, and Climate and Energy and in the European Commission in the cabinet of the former Climate Action chief, Connie Hedegaard.

Kristian holds a master degree in history and international development.

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Leonardo Meeus

Leonardo Meeus

Director, Florence School of Regulation
Biography
Leonardo Meeus
Director, Florence School of Regulation

Leonardo Meeus is a professor at the European University Institute. He is the Director of the Florence School of Regulation and the Loyola de Palacio Chair in the Robert Schuman Centre. He is also part-time professor at the KU Leuven.

Leonardo contributed as author, reviewer and editor to academic journals in energy economics, regulatory economics, engineering, law, operations research and management. He published the open access book “The Evolution of Electricity Markets in Europe”.

He also engages with decision makers to create impact, and blogs about his experience.

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Michael Villa

Michael Villa

Executive Director, Smart Energy Europe
Biography
Michael Villa
Executive Director, Smart Energy Europe

Michael Villa is the Executive Director of smartEn – Smart Energy Europe, the leading European business association focused on demand-side flexibility. With a background in energy sector advocacy, he previously served as Head of Policy at smartEn after six years as a Senior Consultant for clients in the EU and Middle East. Michael holds a Master’s from the Institute for European Studies in Brussels and a bachelor’s degree from the Catholic University of Milan.

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Peter Vermaat

Peter Vermaat

Secretary General, EU DSO Entity
Biography
Peter Vermaat
Secretary General, EU DSO Entity

Peter Vermaat began his career at VolkerWessels, the second-largest construction company in the Netherlands, in 1991. After holding various senior and international management positions, primarily in infrastructure, he became the CEO of Evides Water Company in Rotterdam. In 2014, he moved to Enexis Group to serve as CEO of this leading Dutch distribution system operator (DSO).

In October 2021, he took up the role of Secretary General of the newly established EU DSO Entity, a Brussels-based organisation. Mandated by EU regulation, the DSO Entity unites over 900 European DSOs to provide technical and regulatory advice on the energy transition to the European Commission.

Throughout his international career, Peter has developed a particular interest in organisational development, public-private partnerships, sustainability, and the energy transition.

Peter holds an MSc in Civil Engineering from the Technical University of Delft and an MBA from Rotterdam Erasmus University.

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Walburga Hemetsberger

Walburga Hemetsberger

Chief Executive Officer, Solar Power Europe
Biography
Walburga Hemetsberger
Chief Executive Officer, Solar Power Europe

Walburga is the Chief Executive Officer of SolarPower Europe. She is responsible for the overall performance of the association. Her previous experience includes her roles as Head of the EU Representation Office at VERBUND for nine years; Advisor of Financial and Capital Markets at The Association of German Public Banks and Association of Public Banks (VÖB / EAPB); Competition lawyer at Haarmann Hemmelrath; A Parliamentary Assistant to Austrian MEP and experience in the DG Competition Merger Control Task Force. Walburga has also been a Board Member of Hydrogen Europe. Walburga holds a degree in Law and Business Administration from Leopold-Franzens Universität Innsbruck. She speaks German, English, Dutch and French.

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15:20 - 15:50

Interview on Energy Regulators Independence

Speakers

Anna Gumbau

Anna Gumbau

Event Moderator
Biography
Anna Gumbau
Event Moderator

Anna Gumbau brings her positive energy, warmth, and enthusiasm to the stage, infusing events with dynamism and sharpness. She also prioritises ensuring that speakers feel at ease and connected with the audience. Anna has a unique ability to connect the dots, recognising that policies don’t exist in isolation or in separate silos. She excels at linking specific and technical topics to the broader landscape of EU politics, and she has a knack for posing the key questions that captivate and engage the audience, making them genuinely care about the subject matter.

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Anna Pietikainen

Anna Pietikainen

Head of Division - Regulatory Policy, OECD
Katharina Ledermann-Tappeiner

Katharina Ledermann-Tappeiner

Senior Policy Officer, E-Control
16:10 - 17:05

Session II: Decarbonised Gases: Driving Carbon-Neutral Energy

Speakers

Anna Gumbau

Anna Gumbau

Event Moderator
Biography
Anna Gumbau
Event Moderator

Anna Gumbau brings her positive energy, warmth, and enthusiasm to the stage, infusing events with dynamism and sharpness. She also prioritises ensuring that speakers feel at ease and connected with the audience. Anna has a unique ability to connect the dots, recognising that policies don’t exist in isolation or in separate silos. She excels at linking specific and technical topics to the broader landscape of EU politics, and she has a knack for posing the key questions that captivate and engage the audience, making them genuinely care about the subject matter.

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Anthony Lorin

Anthony Lorin

Senior Policy Advisor, European Biogas Association
Lukas Wernert

Lukas Wernert

Team Leader Hydrogen Policy, European Commission
Pedro Verdelho

Pedro Verdelho

President, ERSE
Biography
Pedro Verdelho
President, ERSE

Pedro Verdelho is the President of the Portuguese Energy Regulatory Authority (ERSE). He previously served as the Director of ERSE’s Pricing and Tariffs Division.

With more than 20 years of experience in the energy sector, Mr Verdelho is deeply involved in European regulatory cooperation. He has served as Vice-President of CEER since 2021 and has chaired the Gas Working Groups of both CEER and the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) since 2019.

Mr Verdelho is also actively involved in other international regulatory cooperation platforms, including the Mediterranean Energy Regulators (MEDREG), where he chairs MEDREG’s Renewables Working Group, and the Ibero-American Association of Energy Regulators (ARIAE), where he leads the Gas Working Group.

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17:05 - 17:55

Session III: Empowering Consumers in a Volatile Energy Market

Speakers

Anna Gumbau

Anna Gumbau

Event Moderator
Biography
Anna Gumbau
Event Moderator

Anna Gumbau brings her positive energy, warmth, and enthusiasm to the stage, infusing events with dynamism and sharpness. She also prioritises ensuring that speakers feel at ease and connected with the audience. Anna has a unique ability to connect the dots, recognising that policies don’t exist in isolation or in separate silos. She excels at linking specific and technical topics to the broader landscape of EU politics, and she has a knack for posing the key questions that captivate and engage the audience, making them genuinely care about the subject matter.

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Jana Haasová

Jana Haasová

Vice President, CEER
Biography
Jana Haasová
Vice President, CEER

Since joining the Energy Regulatory Office (ERO) in autumn 2015, Ms. Haasová was responsible for various international dossiers, strategy, innovations in the energy sector and first and foremost consumer protection issues.

Since January 2018, Ms. Haasová is in charge of the International Affairs Department at ERO. Jana joined the General of the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) Customers and Retail Markets Working Group (CRM WG) in early 2016 and a year later the RMF TF (Retail Market Functioning Task Force), currently known as IRM WS (Innovation and Retail Markets Work Stream).

In February 2018, she became Co-Chair of IRM WS. During this period, she took part in drafting numerous reports, whitepapers and recommendations for EU energy community. Since early 2020, she is also representing ERO at the CEER General Assembly and ACER Board of Regulators. Jana co-chairs the CEER Customers and Retail Markets Working Group, and also co-chairs the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) Retail Working Group, established in 2021.

Prior to working at ERO, she held a position in Czech DSO, media and transport sectors. Ms. Haasová has a degree at the University of Economics in Prague in International trade and Business law.

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Natalie McCoy

Natalie McCoy

Co-Chair of the Customers and Retail Market Working Group, CEER
Biography
Natalie McCoy
Co-Chair of the Customers and Retail Market Working Group, CEER

Ms McCoy joined Portugal’s Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE) in 2016 to lead its international relations. Prior to ERSE, she served as Secretary General of the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) between 2011 and 2015.

In addition to her responsibilities at ERSE, Natalie co-chairs the CEER Customers and Retail Markets Working Group, following three years as vice chair. She also co-chairs the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) Retail Working Group, established in 2021.

In parallel, she serves as co-chair of CEER’s Gas Decarbonisation Legislation Workstream, since September 2016. Natalie has more than fourteen years’ experience in energy regulation, focusing on customer rights, regulatory governance and electricity and gas market design. With an academic background in political science and EU affairs, she worked at the European Parliament prior to moving into energy regulation.

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Robin Loos

Robin Loos

Deputy Head of Sustainability, BEUC
Tadhg O’Briain

Tadhg O’Briain

Deputy Head of Unit, European Commission
Biography
Tadhg O’Briain
Deputy Head of Unit, European Commission

Tadhg O’Briain works at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Energy covering Consumers, Local Initiatives and Just transition.  Tadhg was a member of the Task Force on Brexit under Michel Barnier and previously worked in the Commission’s Secretariat General.  

Before joining the Commission, Tadhg worked on Ireland – Northern Ireland single electricity market as well as working in financial services, including as assistant to Deutsche Bank chief economist Professor Norbert Walter.

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17:55 - 18:00

Closing Remarks

Speakers

Annegret Groebel

Annegret Groebel

CEER President, CEER
Biography
Annegret Groebel
CEER President, CEER

Dr Annegret Groebel is Director of International Relations at the German Regulatory Authority for Electricity, Gas, Telecommunications, Post and Railway (BNetzA). Dr Groebel has worked for BNetzA since 1998. She has been CEER President since January 2019 and was a Vice President of CEER since 2012. She also has chaired the CEER Market Integrity and Transparency (MIT) Working Group since 2013. She is a member of the Board of Regulators of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). Dr Groebel has a PhD in Economics from the University of Mannheim. She is also involved in the work of the Independent Regulators Group (IRG) and the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).

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