Citizens and Serbia Power Utility Company prepare for the match on the electricity market. Because of the huge competition the fighting for consumers in neighboring Croatia is already intense. The question is Serbian energy power supply company ready to fight with competition like RWE or GEN-I which made aggressive market penetration in Croatia and are they moving on to Serbian market next year?
The Croatia HEP electricity company made, they say, a revolutionary move. It had to cut the electricity price by ten percent, because it loses customers. Due to the favorable electricity prices offered by the company from Slovenia and Germany, 12.600 households left the Croatia Power Utility Company from June. Consumers no longer buy electricity from HEP; they also say that for large families with low incomes savings is small.
Robert Golob, president of the company GEN-I, said that their company claimed always to have 10 percent lower rates from HEP.
Zoran Milisa, director of the German “RWE energy”, adds that their price will always be more favorable to the customer than the one offered by the HEP.
Since the beginning of this year in Serbia, when the electricity market opening started, large consumers, such as factories, have elected its suppliers by themselves. In the EPS claim they are ready for competition.
Aleksandar Obradovic, acting EPS director general, says the changes that come by the market liberalization are big and they also were sore in other countries.
“At the moment when the market was opened, on 1st January at high voltage we managed to keep 25 of 26 customers. I remind that the buyers have full right to change their supplier. That means that we, under all these circumstances, managed to keep 97 percent of the market at a high voltage”, said Obradovic.
The head of the EPS says that the company achieved success with improved market value and managed to achieve additional incomes of more than 17, 5 MEUR.
The question is whether EPS hold the position as the main supplier, because from the New Year, all companies and institutions will also be able to choose from whom they will buy electricity. While, small shops such as artisans and households will have that option from January 2015.
Minister of Energy, Zorana Mihajlovic has repeatedly called EPS to speed up restructuring and turn to consumers in order not to lose them.
“From the next year, when gradually begin to come competition, EPS will not be able to operate in this way. Consumers need to know that EPS will not be able to act as a state within a state, we often hear that, and EPS will have to be very competitive if wants to be take part in that game called liberalized market. Now consumers will have a choice. This is what will change and I would love EPS quickly to realize that “, points Mihajlovic.
In Serbia there are 65 licensed electricity retailers, and thirty is active. Competition is great, and consumers do not have to install anything extra to change suppliers, but only to sign a new contract.
Source; Serbia Energy
