Serbia: EPS has no real competition in Serbia, Alternative suppliers still very passive, the price of electricity is not competitive

Published on 15. January 2014., News Serbia Energy

Serbian electricity market is increasingly open to competition. From 1. January started the second phase of liberalization and, in addition to large factories, also all public companies and institutions need to choose their supplier. Most consumers choose EPS.

However, many have not decided yet, but they will have to do it by March because otherwise the exclusion from the network would threaten to them. By the end of last year, 27 industrial customers and 3.200 companies and institutions had to sign a contract for the supply. Because of the public procurement procedure, many are not made ​​on time. For those who do not have a contract until the end of February, the supplier may be also EPS, as so-called “spare supplier” and calculations show that in this case electricity is more expensive by about 20 %. Providers who took over the role of reserve supplier has a greater risk in the business for that part of the business and has a right on higher price.

The Energy Law is clear and, all those who do not choose a supplier in the next two months will be excluded from the network. If you are not satisfied, customers may terminate the contract and seek a new supplier. The implementation of this procedure for the customer is free and cannot last longer than 21 days. To begin this process, the customer must have a regulatory relationship with the current supplier. This means that borrowers are in the worst position. Aleksandar Obradovic, acting Director General of EPS says that if someone wants to change supplier must pay all previous obligations. Permission for electricity trading in Serbia has around 70 companies, but only 30 are active.

However, EPS has no real competition. The impression is that alternative suppliers want to examine what the customers are. They probably wait for the market to be fully regulated. Legal market competition is expected in 2015th with fully market opening, when also households will be able to choose their supplier.

Source; Serbia Energy