The EU's new Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) will be located in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The decision, reached by EU energy ministers last week, is part of the implementation of the bloc's third energy liberalisation package agreed March 2009.
The agency is planned to become operational on 3 March 2011, and it will coordinate the work of national regulatory authorities for gas and electricity. ACER will have an advisory role to the European institutions, but it will also have independent powers, for instance it will:
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be able to take binding decisions on cross-border infrastructure if national authorities fail to reach agreement or refer the case to it;
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monitor and report on developments in energy markets;
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help to create European network rules and make recommendations on the 10-year network development plans submitted by national authorities.
Further information:
Swedish Presidency Press release
Overview of the 3rd Energy Package by the European Commission