After electricity the liberalization of the natural gas market is introduced in Serbia from next year. In the first step, it refers primarily to large consumers, and also small customers and households will be able to choose their supplier from 2016th.
Little more than a month still remain to the distributors of natural gas in Serbia to separate the supply and distribution activities or transport of this energy. It is actually the best change that brings the liberalization of the natural gas market for the distributors in Serbia, which comes into force on January 1st 2015th, because of that datethey, as well as large consumers, will not be eligible for public supply.
On the other hand, this possibility remains for households and small customers for at least another year.
“They can expect free market probably in 2016th, when they will be able to enter the market and to choose their natural gas supplier, if they choose it. If they do not make choice, they will remain on public supply so that they fall in the category of protected consumers”, says Ljubinko Savic, secretary of the Association for energy and energy mining, PKS.
In Serbia, currently there are more than 260 thousand consumers of natural gas, of which nearly 250 thousand are households, so small consumers. They want primarily to provide better conditions for usersby market liberalization, similar how this field is regulated in the European Union.
“There are no competitionrules and precisely this competition has given some positive results when it comes to the supplyquality and security – more precisely, continuity of supply, or even in terms of price”, Savic added.
