Last Wednesday, 3 December, the ETIP SNET community convened for the 32nd ETIP SNET Governing Board meeting, the last and most important appointment of the year, hosted at the Eurelectric premises.
A key highlight of the meeting was the renewal of the ETIP SNET chairmanship, marking the start of a new leadership cycle for the initiative. Participants also discussed the transition toward a revised SET Plan governance, emphasising the need for stronger collaboration with Member States, industry stakeholders, and the Implementation Working Groups, as well as the planned realignment of ETIP SNET with the new governance structure. This approach aims to further embed ETIP SNET’s work into the EU policy process and enhance its strategic guidance on research and innovation.
As the mandate of the current ETIP SNET chairmanship ended in December, the Governing Board elected the new leadership team: Antonio Iliceto as Chair (TSO sector), Santiago Gallego as Vice-Chair (DSO sector), and Emin Selahattin Umdu, reconfirmed for a second mandate as Vice-Chair (Storage sector), ensuring a strong and forward-looking contribution to Europe’s energy transition.
The new chairmanship presented its strategic vision for 2026 and outlined the trajectory for aligning ETIP SNET with the EU policymaking process. The Board expressed its gratitude to Luis Cunha, outgoing ETIP SNET Chair, for his valuable leadership and significant contributions to the platform’s success.
The Working Groups reported on their 2025 achievements and presented their 2026 Work Plans, which include upcoming activities and papers addressing key EU priority topics such as grid security, system flexibility, AI applications in smart grids, customer empowerment, and more. The Board highlighted the importance of strengthening system resilience, accelerating digitalisation, and ensuring strategic supply-chain autonomy, while reaffirming ETIP SNET’s commitment to advancing energy system integration and innovation.
The meeting also emphasised the importance of collaboration with other major stakeholders, including the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP), CIGRE, and Eurelectric, which were invited to present their ongoing work and main initiatives.
The event concluded with remarks from DG ENER, underlining the importance and impact of ETIP SNET’s work and calling for continued, active coordination among stakeholders to ensure that research and policy developments support a sustainable and resilient energy future for Europe.