In the next phase of market opening, which will take place from 1 January 2014, on the market should come out between 4,000 and 5,000 companies. According to announcements by the Ministry of Energy in the public supply will remain only households and small electricity customers (legal entities and enterprises with fewer than 50 employees and a total annual income of up to EUR 10 million), while the medium voltage customers and customers of the low voltage will negotiate supply in the market.
– The total consumption of these customers was 5.5 TWh in the previous year. Among other things, in this group of customers are large, but also small and medium enterprises that are the healthiest part of the Serbian economy – say in the Ministry of Energy.
The first man of “Messer Tehnogas” Mr.Ernst Bode, the first company which contracted external power supplier the Slovenia Gen-I company says he is not convinced that the second wave of market liberalization for consumers at medium voltage will come the first January 2014.
Maybe it does take a little longer, although the EPS, with 30,000 employees, should have the administrative capacity to prepare the market and conclude all agreements.
Bode expects the price offered and the flexibility of supply in the future certainly will be a determining factor in the choice of electricity suppliers.
Prices of electricity retailers should be linked to the price in European markets, so that the price for the end user depends on developments in these markets. EPS is however electricity producer, and its price may be formed in a more convenient way if they want, but they should have the desire to be more competitive than any other electricity traders and they shold be covinced that it is more important to support the Serbian industry than to export cheap electricity.
Electricity prices for the next period is not easy to predict since that in the short term, “everything can change overnight with decisions of the state.”
It’s only when we can see clearly which is idea of the state in terms of EPS, we will be able to deal with more serious prognosis. In Croatia, it happened that the HEP began to lose customers, but the battle is at a somewhat higher price level. Look at the price of electricity on the regional stock exchanges can also help us to understand that if really there are the conditions for the formation of the free market, only well-run EPS can be regionally competitive and to operate according to the rules applicable to the European electricity market which is commitment made to the Energy Community.
After the opening of the electricity market for the companies, it is foreseen that from first January 2015 households will also be free to choose their suppliers on the market, but the ability to use the public supply will be retained.
Source; Serbia Energy
