Nordic Cooperation

NER is funded by the five Nordic countries and has been fostering collaboration in energy research for the past 30 years. This has strengthened the research community and created opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector.

The Nordic countries have set ambitious goals for carbon reduction and emphasize green technology. NER funds are intended to support this strategy by increasing knowledge about renewable energy and promoting the development of new competitive solutions in the field of energy.

The NER Board, committees, and steering groups consist of representatives from the funds of the Nordic countries, institutions responsible for energy matters, and ministries. A representative from Orkustofnun has been a member of the NER Board in recent years, and when Iceland leads the Nordic cooperation every five years, the representative from Iceland in the NER Board becomes the chair of Orkustofnun's Board.

• Further information about NER's activities, priorities, etc., can be found here.

• Priorities for Iceland's leadership year in 2023 can be found here.

The National Energy Regulatory Authority participates in Nordic cooperation on emergency management of the electricity systems of the countries. Iceland's participation began in 2006 following an agreement by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The cooperative platform addresses potential threats to the electricity systems of the Nordic countries that may require emergency management measures, and proposes ways to respond to them.

In NORDBER, representatives from the National Energy Authority (NEA) and Landsnet, along with counterparts from similar institutions in the other Nordic countries, participate. The NEA held the presidency of NORDBER for the years 2019-2020.

NORDBER operates several working groups:

- A working group on risk factor analysis

- A working group on responses to cyber attacks on computer systems

- A working group on Nordic cooperation in power system maintenance

- A working group on joint emergency exercises

National Energy Regulatory Authority participates in the cooperation of Nordic regulatory authorities: NordREG. The main focus of this cooperation is to identify common ground regarding the electricity markets of the Nordic countries and to work together to safeguard the interests of the countries within the European Union and the European Economic Area. Within NordREG, several working groups operate, and representatives from the NEA actively contribute to these efforts.