Michael Jesberger appointed chair of ENTSO-E steering group

Representatives of the European Association of European Transmission System Operators (EINTSO-E) elected Michael Jesberger, Managing Director of TransnetBW, to its Executive Board in June of this year. As of 19 September 2019, he is also to lead ENTSO-E’s new steering group for TSO and DSO interface. It coordinates committee-level interface within ENTSO-E between transmission and distribution system op-erators at the European level for the development and implementation of measures to achieve European climate and energy targets.

Michael Jesberger was appointed head of the steering group for TSO and DSO interface in a board meeting that took place on 19 September. The group reports directly to the Executive Board of ENTSO-E and, besides representatives of all committees, involves five experts. Michael Jesberger is therefore taking on an important role in shaping future cooperation between transmission and distribution system operators (TSOs and DSOs, respectively) in Europe.

This is especially true in the case of the ongoing implementation of the European Commission’s Clean Energy Package. The legislative package includes recommendations on how to structure a European electricity market that would ensure that the 2030 climate and energy goals will be met – a challenge that transmission and distribution system operators can only overcome together. The interface with the so-called EU DSO Entity fleshed out with the representatives of existing distribution system operator associations also needs to be supported.

“The energy transition is leading to an ever closer intermeshing of transmission and distribution networks,” says Michael Jesberger. “There are many tasks involved in supplying energy in the future that we will only be able to handle by working closely together. This particularly applies to integrating decentralised flexibility, i.e. feed-ins from distributions networks, in network and systems operation. I look forward to pressing ahead with solutions to this difficult task together with colleagues from the steering group for TSO and DSO interface.”