The Chairman of Red Eléctrica de España, Luis Atienza Serna, was today appointed to the Board of Directors of ENTSO-E, the association which brings together 42 European TSO's, the operators and owners of the electricity transmission systems in the European Union (EU). This appointment took place within the framework of the 8th annual assembly of the association, held today in Madrid. This is the first occasion that the assembly has met in a member country and not at their Head Offices in Brussels.

The assembly was inaugurated by Pedro Marín, secretary of State for Energy, who made an assessment of the Spanish presidency in the field of energy, and has underlined the challenges which the European electricity system faces, paying special emphasis to the importance of investment in the electricity transmission infrastructure and, in particular, in the interconnections. The assembly approved the development plan for the European network for the next ten years.

The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, ENTSO-E was founded on 27 June 2008 by recommendation of the European Parliament, to promote the cooperation in the field of electricity transmission within the EU.

The main activities of the association make it possible to coordinate the development of an interconnected, secure and environmentally sustainable European electricity transmission system, whilst facilitating the transparent competition with the internal energy market. Also, taking into consideration the European objectives of reducing emissions, ENTSO-E plays a crucial role in the integration of renewable energy under secure conditions.

As a member of this Board of Directors, the work of the Chairman of Red Eléctrica will concentrate mainly on reinforcing the promotion of regional initiatives within the Iberian Electricity Market, the development of the interconnections and in confronting the challenges raised by the European energy policy, especially that referring to the integration of renewable energy into the electricity system.

The association consists of 42 TSO's belonging to 34 countries.